WITCH Season 3
by HeartofMeridian
Summary: My take on what Season 3 of W.I.T.C.H would have been if they had made one.  Continues the story right from the end of season 2. If you want some classic W.I.T.C.H, check this out. More coming soon. For those of you who just want to catch up to Season 4, a review of this story is on my profile page.
1. Here we go again

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 1

Here we go again

**DISCALIMER: I do not own the rights to any of these characters. I am merely a fan who is hoping to have some fun writing W.I.T.C.H stories of my own. Please enjoy without suing :) **

**Note: These events follow the end of season 2. **

"Of all the low down, dirty, no good, rotten…"

"Nice to see you too, Will."

Will threw her knapsack down on the floor and sat on a stool with her arms crossed. Irma, Taranee and Hay Lin looked at her, vainly trying to hide smiles.

"Tough day?" asked Hay Lin.

"Dean gave me detention. Me!"

"Why Will," said Irma, with a trademark smile, "surely you don't expect better treatment just because he's dating your mom!"

The girls were enjoying one of their first breaks since defeating Cedric yesterday. Although the mood was good (other then Will's), the energy was not. It was clear that the last month of battles had taken their toll on all of them. The fact that it was Monday was not helping matters. They had agreed to meet in the Silver Dragons basement after school, which is where they were now.

"Shut up Irma." Growled Will, while giving her friend a look that would melt steel, "he knows how tired I am from defeating Nerissa, Phobos and Cedric."

"No he doesn't." added Taranee before she could help herself.

"Well," said Will as she gritted her teeth, "he should at least know about my date with Matt tonight."

"Let me get this straight, you're in a bad mood because we saved the universe and you have a date?"

Hay Lin laughed a little at Irma's comments. She was glad for the opportunity to sit and talk with her friends, without planning strategy. Even Will smiled.

"I'm not in a bad mood Irma. I'm guess I'm just tired. Cornelia and I spent the entire day sleeping in class."

"Hence the detention." said Taranee, getting a little laugh from everyone. Will suddenly looked up.

"Hey, did you get the heart?"

"Sure did." said Hay Lin, handing the glowing talisman back to its rightful owner. "Sure was nice of Cornelia to give the Meridianites a hand putting their world back together."

"Phhhht!" snorted Irma, "I think she was more worried about one Meridianite in particular."

Meridian

Elyon stood on her balcony, overlooking the various construction problems underway in the once beautiful city. All and all, things could be worse she thought. After all, she was free, the world was safe and she had her best friends beside her. And yet for the second time in a many years, Meridian was rebuilding itself from the ashes. Cornelia stood beside her, Caleb's arm around her shoulder. She caught Elyon's glance and smiled.

"The people of Meridian seem to be recovering very well. A lot of the houses are half re-built already." Cornelia said, turning her gaze on the city. Caleb frowned.

"They're getting pretty used to it by now." he said.

"Maybe if they had a ruler who wasn't getting imprisoned in jewels every couple of months they would have to." said Elyon. Caleb walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder.

"It wasn't your fault Elyon, you must believe that."

"I wonder how long it will take before people get sick of saying that." Elyon muttered. Before Caleb could respond,

"Elyon?"

"Yes mother, we're out here."

Miradel walked out onto the balcony and gave Caleb and Cornelia a smile. She had been through so much through the years, especially the last couple, but still managed a confident air. Elyon hoped she had inherited her mothers' strength, until she remembered Miradel wasn't her real mother.

"Elyon, the council would like to talk to you about the prisoners. Can you spare a minute?"

Elyon cast a sideways glance at her friends who both smiled and nodded.

"Of course mother. Tell them I'll be there in shortly."

Miradel nodded and left. Elyon turned to her best friend.

"I'm sorry Cornelia, we'll have to talk some other time."

"Sure thing Elyon. I'll see if I can come this weekend." Cornelia replied. The two of them hugged. Caleb saluted her as she sighed. She hated when he did that and he knew it.

"I feel bad for her." Caleb said after Elyon had left. "She feels like she let everyone down again. I wish she knew how the people of Meridian felt about her, how much they trusted her…"

"She's just going though a tough time. The important thing is she's safe." Cornelia replied. Caleb just stared into the distance.

"She is safe, right Caleb?"

"I wish I knew. Meridian's a big place. Who knows what else is out there?"

Cornelia gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"You'll protect her honey. It's what you do best." Caleb gave a sly little smile as he looked at her.

"You have a plan already, don't you." Cornelia said. Caleb looked back at the city.

"Well, maybe just a little one."

Heatherfield

Somewhere in Heatherfield, in one of the tallest buildings in the city, gears are turning. An old man sits in a dark room, staring at five pictures. Beside him, a computer hums and keeps its own beat with a series of flashing lights. The man takes a sip of his coffee and continues to study the pictures. Soon, he thinks to himself, very soon, there will be justice. And the gears keep turning.

Meanwhile

In a familiar restaurant, a familiar couple is having their meal. Normally Will and Matt would go somewhere other then the Silver Dragon for their dates, but today they were both thankful for the familiar surroundings. Matt was studying his date, who was in turn studying her meal.

"Tough first day back at school, huh." Matt said.

"Yep." Will replied.

"Yan Lin makes a great dinner, doesn't she."

"Yep."

"You don't like the fact that I have powers again, do you."

"Nope."

Will looked up from her plate, realizing she had been tricked.

"Guess I should have thought for a second before answering that." she said.

"Yep."

"We've been through this already!" they both said at the same time.

"Look, I just don't think it's a good idea for you to put yourself in danger all the time." Will said, putting down a forkful of noodles.

"But it's perfectly okay for you to do it?" Matt replied with a skeptical look.

Will thought about this for a moment. She knew this conversation was coming, and knew what she wanted to say, but for some reason it didn't seem as good an argument now as it once did.

"It's… different for me. I was chosen…" she said at last.

"I was chosen too!" Matt said, "maybe it's destiny." Will raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend.

"She also chose a mouse and a cat." she said. Matt gave her a sheepish grin.

"Cats can't have destinies?" Will laughed at the silliness of the argument.

"Look, maybe this isn't the best time for this. Let's just enjoy our meal."

"Maybe that's my destiny."

"Stop it." Will smiled again. It was good to be back.

"It's something about his glasses, that's what it is."

All five of the girls were sitting and eating what passed for lunch at Sheffield. Today featured Mystery Meat and Tuna Surprise.

"Martin has glasses, but you don't like him." Hay Lin told Irma.

"Please" Irma laughed, "Martin has the lame glasses of a nerd. My beloved has the sophisticated glasses of a true professional." Taranee rolled her eyes as Hay Lin sighed at Irma's stubbornness. Cornelia took a deep breath and said,

"I know I'm going to regret this but, who are you talking about?"

"Mr. Silla." said Irma in a dreamy voice.

"Now you've done it." said Taranee, "She hasn't stop talking about him all day."

"What happened to Andrew Hornby?" asked Will.

"Andrew who?" replied Irma, snapping out of her stupor.

"Mr. Silla… oh, you mean the new computer teacher!" said Cornelia. Irma sighed,

"Yes Corny, the computer teacher. Isn't he dreamy?" The girls looked at each other.

"We already have boyfriends." they said as one. Irma just glared at them.

In downtown Heatherfield, there is a building known only as The Institute. It was bought for a large sum of money about two years ago. In fact, it was bought only two weeks after Yan Lin gave Will Vandom the Heart of Kandrakar. Since then, very little is known about it. Rarely has anyone ever seen anyone go in or out of it, and the few people who have always describe the same man. That man is currently sitting at his desk, surrounded by humming computers, beeping lights and moving gears. He is talking on the phone, and he is happy for the first time in a very long time.

"Excellent. All five? Excellent work. What? Use it to your advantage. Have they shown any signs of magic? We need conformation. Well keep working then. You know your orders. Do not report back until you have conformation. I am very busy. Goodbye."

He hung up the phone and returned to his work. Time is running out girls, he thought to himself. Soon, everything will be set right. Soon. But for now, there is work to be done.

**And that is chapter 1. More to come shortly; please give me feedback so I can make the story better. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Preparations

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 2

Preparations

Meridian

After the defeat of Phobos a year ago, there were many celebrations during the following week. After Phobos was defeated the second time there were none. It's not that the people of Meridian weren't happy that the tyrant was defeated, they just wanted to get on with their lives and forget the whole thing happened. In fact, Elyon made only one public announcement, two days after the battle, and it had nothing to do with Phobos or Nerissa. She announced to the city that there was to be a royal expedition into the Infinite City, in order to find out some of the secrets that the caverns held. Those going consisted of 20 men and woman, a mixture of solders and elders. There was also one passling going. Normally, this type of project wouldn't be announced publicly but as Elyon put it, "The people of meridian need to know that we are progressing into the future." Caleb thought the whole thing was very political. He was asked to lead the team but declined, saying he had other work to do.

Heatherfield

Will and Cornelia both cursed Taranee for living in the opposite direction. It was an amazingly cold day and they both would've liked Taranee's fire. Cornelia's house was a little out of Will's way, but she followed her friend anyways so she could get a cup of hot chocolate before heading home herself. Cornelia's parents were both out and Lillian wouldn't be home for another thirty minutes, which gave the girls an opportunity to talk to the cat.

"I'd still say another 4 years at least." Said Napoleon, curled up on Will's lap.

"There must be someway to speed up the process" said Will.

"These things take time, doll." Napoleon replied, "Magic's a tricky thing. Rushing it will only make it worse."

"Why do you care so much anyways Will?" Said Cornelia between sips.

"I just thought that, you know, Lillian's powers could give us a major advantage in, uh, the fight against good and evil." Will stammered.

Cornelia didn't believe Will in the least, and one look at the cat told her Napoleon felt the same way. But they were then interrupted by a giant, floating, bald head.

Meridian

Secretly, Drake and Tynar liked construction projects. They would never say that of course, because then they might have to do more of them. Still, there was something very soothing about watching buildings being built instead of torn down. The fact that no one was trying to kill them didn't hurt either. And so it was that they were working on the third floor of an inn when all of a sudden…

"Hey, you two!"

Drake and Tynar looked down from their work to see Caleb standing below then. All six of the other workers also looked down.

"Oh. Uh.. Just Drake and Tynar. Sorry."

"What do you want Caleb?" Drake said with a laugh.

"We're having a meeting in two hours. Main council room."

"Queen's orders?" asked Tynar.

"Nope. My orders." yelled back Caleb.

"Since when do we take orders from him?" whispered Drake with a smile.

"Shhhh, you'll get us both in trouble." Tynar whispered back. "We'll be there Caleb."

Satisfied, Caleb headed back to the castle, a determined look in his eye.

Heatherfield

Will had seen a lot of things as a guardian, but seeing the Oracle's big, shiny, translucent head appear in Cornelia's living room still made her jump. It also made her spill her hot chocolate all over Napoleon.

"Hey! Do you know how hard it is to get chocolate out of fur?"

"Guardians!" said the Oracle's head, ignoring the sulking cat, "pay heed at once."

"What is it Oracle?" asked Will, standing up to face the face.

"Will!" Cornelia interrupted, "Lillian will be home any second!"

"Don't worry doll," said Napoleon, heading to the door, "I'll handle the kid."

"Will," said the Oracle, oblivious of the distraction, "you must gather up the guardians and bring to Kandrakar at once."

"Of course Oracle, we'll come immediately."

"Thank you Will." And with that, the Oracle disappeared, leaving the two girls once again alone.

"One day Will, you're going to have to stand up to that man."

"I don't know Cornelia," said Will, getting out her cellphone, "he looked stressed. Almost… old."

It was times like these that Hay Lin was very glad she had the power of air. It was a blisteringly cold day, with one of the sharpest winds anyone could remember, but an "air umbrella" protected both her and Irma.

"…and then we saw the rings of Saturn. Isn't his grandpas observatory the coolest!" Hay Lin said, ending a detailed re-telling of last nights date with Eric.

"Yeah, it sounds great." said Irma, without any emotion.

"Are you alright Irma?"

Irma snapped to attention at the sound of concern in her friends' voice.

"Huh? Of course! You know me, I'm always fine."

Hay Lin did know Irma and she could tell that everything was not fine, but before she could find out what was wrong, her cell phone rang.

"Hello? Oh, hi Will. Yeah, I'm with Irma. Uh huh… sigh, yes we'll meet you there." She hung up the phone and looked at Irma.

"We have to go to Cornelia's house." Hay Lin said, "Sounds like we're wanted in Kandrakar."

"What are the chances that they're throwing a party in our honor?" Irma said with a smile.

"Slim to none." Hay Lin replied. Irma sighed.

"Well, let's go anyways."

Twenty minutes later, all five girls were inside Cornelia's room, preparing to depart. It was not the biggest meeting they had held in the room.

"Did he say what was wrong?" asked Taranee.

"No. He didn't even say anything was wrong. It's just a feeling I got." replied Will.

"Something's always wrong with that man." Irma sighed.

"Well, he did just spend the last two months inside a magic bubble." Cornelia replied.

"Corny, we could make a baseball team with the people who have been trapped inside bubbles. You've done it twice!"

Will just ignored them.

"Come on you guys, let's see what it is this time."

And with that, Will opened a fold and the girls once again entered the center of infinity.


	3. Insights and Revelations

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 3

Insights and Revelations

Heatherfield

The man tapped his fingers on the desk. Two more alerts had just come in. One of them was common, most likely however they traveled between worlds, but one was big. Very big. Not as big as the one last week, but still, big. And both of them were in the apartment building where the Hale girl lived. Action must be taken. He dialed a number on his phone.

"It's me." he said, "The Hale residence, get to it immediately. Stay there until I tell you otherwise. Because those are my orders. See to it that you do."

He frowned. The nerve of the man, he thought, questioning my orders! Ah well, he will not be needed for much longer. And the gears continued to turn.

Kandrakar

Taranee never quite got used to the sheer scale of Kandrakar. Even in it's lesser state, as it was now, it inspired awe simply by being. She found herself now in a room she had never been before, but she recognized it from Yan Lin's description. It was the council room. Taranee noticed that the stage they were standing on was surrounded by rows and rows of Kandrakar elders, each wearing an identical white robe. It reminded her of the Roman Coliseum. Taranee didn't recognize most of the council members, but there was one in the front row that she definitely knew. Yan Lin smiled at the girls, and them embraced her granddaughter. This wasn't the real Yan Lin, of course, merely an altermere. She was staying in Kandrakar until they could figure out what to do with her.

"Girls, why are you not in guardian form?" The oracles strong voice brought Taranee back to reality.

"Sorry Oracle," Will replied, "Cornelia's sister was in the next room and we didn't want to make to much noise."

"It would be best if you transformed now." The Oracle said with unblinking eyes.

"Of course Oracle." Will said, raising the Heart.

"We're fine by the way, thanks for asking." Irma interrupted.

"Irma!" Cornelia hissed, covering her friend's mouth. Taranee kept a straight face but secretly agreed with Irma. It felt as if the girls were just being used as tools, instead of real people. Will sighed.

"Guardians unite!"

"Water!" "Fire!" "Earth!" "Air!" "Quintessence!"

"Now," said the Oracle, after the process had finished, "Let's get down to business."

Meridian

Vathek trudged through the hallways towards his room. He had just helped save the universe and what does he get for his service? A twelve-hour patrol shift right off the bat. Well that was it, he thought to himself, enough was enough. Nothing was going to stop him from going to bed and sleeping as for long as he wanted. Well, nothing except for the note nailed to his door. The one with his name on it, written in Caleb's handwriting. He took a deep breath, and opened up the letter.

Vathek,

Meeting in council room in an hour. Attendance mandatory. Sorry.

-Caleb

Vathek sighed. One of these days, he thought.

Kandrakar

"You are all familiar with Zamballa?"

The Oracle stood in front of the girls, his arms behind his back. There were times when Taranee was very glad that Will was unofficial leader of the team. Taranee had no interest in answering any of the Oracle's questions. She just wanted to know what the problem was, and then go solve it.

"You mean the purple tree planet?" Will said without thinking.

"I mean, yes, we know it."

What the Oracle did next was the last thing Taranee would have ever expected. He laughed. She wasn't the only one who was surprised. Murmurs and mutterings instantly rippled through the council. The Oracle quickly silenced them with a single look.

"Yes," he said when silence was restored, "that's the one."

"What happened?" Will asked, quickly regaining her composure.

"There is some… civil unrest." Said the Oracle. Suddenly, a voice from behind the girls interrupted.

"Call it what it is Oracle. A civil war."

The girls turned to identify the speaker, and received their third shock of the day.

"Kadma?"

Meridian

Aria was very excited. And she had good reason to be. After all, this was her first mission. She had been too young to help with the rebellion or defeating Nerissa, but now she was finally able to do something. She was part of the team that was exploring the Infinite City. Her father, who had been in the rebellion for ten years, was the military leader of the group.

Aria fiddled with the hilt of her sword. Her father had told her that she wouldn't use it. "A strictly exploratory mission" he called it. Still, Aria hoped they would find some lurdans or something to beat up.

"Lieutenant Hyatt! We found something." One of the elders was calling for Aria's father.

"Coming!" Called back Hyatt, "What is it?"

Aria felt her excitement growing again. They had been down here for three days, and had barely found anything.

"It's just a word." the Elder said, studying the ancient rune.

"What does it say?" Asked Hyatt.

"I'm not sure. We have a translator looking at it."

There were very few people left who could read ancient Meridian, and they had one of them on the team.

"I know what it says." said the translator with a grave look in his eye, "but you're not going to like it."

"What does it say?" asked Hyatt, grabbing his sword without even realizing it.

"Prison"

Prison? Aria frowned and turned back to the darkness of the city. If this is a prison, she thought, then who are the prisoners? Then a pair of yellow eyes shone through the darkness. Then another. Then another. Then another. And all of a sudden, Aria wasn't so excited anymore.


	4. Honey, I'm home

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 4

Honey, I'm home

Meridian

"Caleb!"

Captain Julian was deep in thought with some of the upcoming projects when he saw a brown blur streak through the hallways in front of him. He instantly recognized it as his son, and called for him.

"Oh, dad." Caleb said, out of breath, "Just… the man… I wanted to see."

"I need to talk to you too, son." Caleb was still panting so Julian continued.

"I know we've had some tough times recently. With… your mother. I just want to let you know that I'm sorry for all the things I've done wrong over the years, and all the mistakes I've made. I hope you know how sorry I am and that I'll always be here for you. I'm very proud of you my son."

"Thank you dad." The two of them hugged.

"Now," Julian said, releasing his grip, "what did you have to say that was so important?"

Caleb smiled and scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"Um… I just wanted you to know that we're having a meeting soon in the council room and I'd like you to come."

Julian smiled. It was clear this meant a lot to his son.

"I'll be there." he said. Caleb smiled and muttered something about one more person, then took off down the hallway once again.

Kandrakar

Kadma walked quickly and with great purpose onto the central stage and turned to face the guardians.

"I'm sure you are all aware," she said, "that I stepped down from my role as Zamballa's queen due to recent events."

Yeah, thought Taranee, recent events involving you losing their heart and giving it to Narissa. Taranee had never had a great working relationship with Kadma. She disagreed with the way Kadma had handled the Nerissa situation on Zamballa. For now though, she put her personal feelings aside. There was work to be done.

"Yes, we know that Kadma. But what exactly did you mean when you said there was a civil war?" Will asked, getting a little impatient herself.

"The Zamballans are not a very independent race." said the Oracle, choosing his words carefully, "They were Ill-equipped to deal with Kadma's departure. The resulting power vacuum has resulted in conflict. Several Zamballans have claimed rights to the throne, and even more dispute them."

"It's anarchy, Will." Kadma added. Taranee decided it was her turn to talk.

"With all due respect, Oracle, what do you expect us to do about it? We can't just walk in and crown a new king!"

"Of course not Taranee." Kadma said. "We know that the Zamballans must settle this for themselves. All we are asking is for you to go in and defuse this violence. Before anyone gets hurt!"

"Then of course we will help." Will said. The rest of the guardians nodded in agreement.

"Those trees are going to be peaceful whether they like it or not!" Irma added.

And with that, Will sliced the air with the Heart of Kandrakar, and set off into Zamballa.

Meridian

Aria sat on the floor of the Infinite city, holding her arm. Her first battle had not gone exactly as she expected. It all happened so fast, she felt like she didn't do much of anything. She checked underneath her bandages to see if her arm was still bleeding. Her father said that it wasn't a serious wound, and that she'd be fine. Besides, it wasn't as bad as some of the injuries the others had suffered. One of the warriors was knocked out, but didn't have a scratch on him.

Nobody was really sure what they had just fought. The creatures seemed designed to fight. Large claws and teeth, excellent night vision, whoever imprisoned them here must have had good reason. But they seemed sluggish, even old, and were no match for the trained Meridian solders.

The creatures were not the biggest surprise though. After the battle, a couple of the elders found a man, who looked about thirty years old. He said that he had been part of the rebellion when the creatures attacked him and brought him here. He didn't know how long he'd been back there, but it seemed like a very long time. Aria thought that was amazing. How brave he must be, to survive down here! One thing was clear, they had to bring him, and their wounded back to the castle. The man smiled when they said that. He seemed very eager to get back to the city.

Zamballa

The girls exited the fold and stepped into the soothing forests of Zamballa.

"This doesn't seem so bad." said Cornelia, admiring the purple grass.

Suddenly, a gigantic rock landed at her feet, missing her by inches.

"Okay, maybe I spoke to soon."

"Quickly girls, we must stop this!" Kadma said, motioning in the direction the rock came from.

Kadma no longer had her queenly powers, so Cornelia had to carry her on a rock platform. They hadn't flown long when they saw a spectacular sight. Two Zamballans were fighting as only they could, by hurling giant boulders at one another!

"Woah… there's something you don't see everyday!" was all Hay Lin managed to say.

"Zamballans!" Kadma shouted, while standing in between the two giants. "I implore you to stop this senseless bickering!"

At the sight of their former queen, the two trees stopped fighting.

"Kadma!" they both said softly. A murmur of Kadma then spread throughout the trees all around the girls. Instantly, Zamballans started appearing from all directions until Kadma and the girls were surrounded.

"Zamballans!" This time it was Will addressing them. "We are not here to fight you! We just want to…" But before she could finish the Zamballans acted. One by one, they all started bowing to their former queen, while whispering her name. Irma regained her composure first.

"Well, this is different."

Meridian

Caleb was nervous, and he hated himself for it. There was no reason to be nervous, he told himself. These were his friends and family. They respected him. Why was he nervous? Maybe, he thought, because he couldn't shake the feeling that this important, something that needed to happen. And he wasn't sure he could pull it off. Here goes nothing he thought. He took a deep breath, pushed open the doors, and entered the council room.


	5. A Call to Arms

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 5

A call to arms

Zamballa

Will never really considered herself a fighter. In fact she hated all aspects of war. However, she had picked up some tricks of the trade during her time as a guardian. One of the first things she learned from Caleb was how to analyze her surroundings. She did that now, and didn't really like what she saw.

Zamballans had no need for furniture, so the "Field of Meeting" was just that, a field. The meeting itself consisted of two rings of trees. The large outermost ring consisted of about twenty Zamballans. These were the spectators. Will recognized both Bow Breaker and Iron Wood among them. The innermost circle contained five Zamballans, including Bitter Root. Will guessed that these were the trees that wanted Kadma's throne after she left. The guardians and Kadma were also part of this circle. Kadma stood in the spot normally reserved for the Queen.

"Attention!" Kadma said in a strong voice, "This meeting of the Zamballan high council will now begin!"

This meeting had been called less then an hour since the girls arrived on Zamballa, which didn't give them much time to game plan. Will had talked briefly with Kadma and they both agreed that Kadma should not resume her role as Queen. However, Will didn't think Kadma would be able to resist her old role once it was offered, as it was now. Seeing Kadma quickly take charge of the meeting wasn't helping. Kadma continued to talk.

"Let us now decide who will lead Zamballa into the future!"

Meridian

"Thank you all for coming."

Caleb sat at the end of a long rectangular table. His father and Vathek sat on his left, while Drake and Tynar sat on the right. There was one empty chair opposite from Caleb.

"Why exactly are we here, Caleb?" Vathek asked. Caleb took a deep breath.

"You're here because Meridian has just survived the worst twenty years in history. Phobos, Nerissa and Cedric just attacked Meridian and it's Queen with everything they had and we just barely survived. As it stands now, if someone else were to attack, they would win. So we need to add something to our side."

"What about the guardians?" asked Tynar. Caleb shook his head.

"The guardians don't just protect Meridian. They protect the entire universe. We can't count on them to solve everything at all times."

"Besides," Julian added, "we need a Meridian solution. One we can control and rely on."

"What are you suggesting?" Vathek asked.

"A team." Caleb replied. "The best that Meridian has to offer. The greatest warriors of our time. A team that can find and eliminate threats before they get out of hand. Meridian will not be at peace forever, so we need people that will either stop the next war before it starts, or finish it once it does. That's where we come in. I think that the people at this table are Meridian's finest and should be its first line of defense. I think we need to be this team."

Nobody said anything for a moment, then Drake broke the silence.

"That sounds great Caleb, but just the five of us?"

"Sometimes small is better." Julian replied. "Besides," he said with a smile, "five seems to work."

"Actually," Caleb said "there's six."

And as if on cue, the doors to the council room opened once again.

Zamballa

Not surprisingly, Irma was the first to talk.

"What's going on here?"

"We know there's been some conflict," Taranee said, clarifying Irma's question, " but why? Surely you Zamballans are civilized enough to chose a leader peacefully!"

With that, the inner circle of Zamballans erupted. Each tree shouted at once, trying to prove that it wasn't them that started the conflict, and that someone else should be blamed.

"I guess politics are the same on every planet." Cornelia muttered.

"Quiet!" This time it was Will yelling. "One at a time!"

Surprised by the young girls voice, the Zamballans went silent.

"Now," Will said, "Bitter Root. Tell me what happened."

"Why should he get to speak?" asked one of the other trees.

"Because I know him," said Will "and I know he'll tell the truth."

"Thank you Guardian." Bitter Root said. "After Queen Kadma's departure, many Zamballans, including myself, nominated themselves for ruler. We were all scared, panicking from the devastation caused by Nerissa. Things… got out of hand. We are all ashamed of our actions."

No one argued with this, so Will spoke again.

"I understand. But you have to realize that Kadma is not the answer to your problems. A human should not lead Zamballa. Isn't that right, Kadma?" Kadma hesitated for a moment.

"Yes, that is correct, Will" Kadma said at long last. "Zamballans, your only hope for the future lies in…"

"_Good job Will!"_ Hay Lin was communicating telepathically with Will while Kadma talked.

"_Thanks Hay Lin." _Will thought back. _"I hope I sounded more confident then I felt."_

"_You did great Will." _Cornelia said, _"But what are we going to do?"_

"_Yeah, this isn't just some problem we can bonk on the head to make it go away." _said Irma.

"_I don't know girls. I'm just worried that Kadma is going to become Queen again. We can't let that happen!" _Will said.

"_But what can we do about it? We can't choose Zamballa's leader for them." _Taranee said.

"_But we have to do something!" _Hay Lin said. None of them said anything for a while.

"_Look on the bright side," _Irma said, _"at least they're not fighting anymore!"_

And with that, the outer circle of Zamballans started screaming and running as a ten-foot monster appeared from the forest. The girls just glared at Irma.

"_Anything else you want to add, Irma?"_

"_Nope, I'm good."_

Meridian

The council room doors opened, and Raythor walked in. He surveyed the room with an unblinking glare.

"Hope I'm not too late." he said. He walked to the far end of the table and sat opposite of Caleb. Vathek was the first to break the silence.

"This is an outrage!" He yelled. As he did so, he stood and pounded the table so hard it cracked. "Surely you can't think that this scum is one of Meridian's finest?" Drake and Julian nodded in agreement

"I refuse to be on any team that has him as a member." Drake added

"Caleb, have to agree with the others" Julian said. "I don't think Raythor is a good choice. We still don't know if we can trust him."

Raythor said nothing during this time. Caleb tried to remain calm. He knew this was coming.

"I think Raythor is a key part of this plan." He said once everyone was quiet. "If he hadn't turned against Phobos when he did, we never would have won. He showed a lot of courage doing what he did. Plus, he gave me his word he would do this, and that's good enough for me."

Nobody said anything for a while. They all agreed with Caleb's idea for an elite team, but none of them really trusted Raythor enough to fight by his side. They still remembered all the things Raythor had done to Meridian as Phobos's guard and as a knight of vengeance. Just because he switched sides in the end didn't make him a good man. In the end, it was Tynar that broke the deadlock.

"I know how hard it is to go against Phobos." He said, "If you were all able to forgive me, then the least we can do is give Raythor a chance. Besides, this is what's best for Meridian and Elyon, and that's all that matters." Drake was next.

"I don't like it, but it is necessary. I'm in, for now."

Caleb turned to his father.

"I trust you Caleb. If you think this is for the best, then I'll support you. I'm in."

Only Vathek was left. Everyone turned to look at him. He thought for a moment, and then sighed and sat back down.

"I'm in." He said. Then he muttered under his breath, "This better work."

"Thank you." Caleb said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I know we can make this work."

Suddenly the door burst open and one of the royal messengers ran in.

"There you are!" he said. "Queen Elyon needs you all to come to the courtyard right away! The infinite city team has arrived, and they have wounded."

Caleb turned to face his new team. They were already standing up.

"No time like the present!" he said with a smile.

"Gentlemen, welcome to the Honor Guard!"


	6. Welcome to the Jungle

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 6

Welcome to the Jungle

Heatherfield

Raphael Sylla was getting a cramp in his leg. He shook it back and forth, but it was no use. Where on earth were those girls? When he took this assignment, he thought it was going to be a breeze. He was getting paid more then twice his usual rate, and his subjects were all teenage girls! Not exactly the toughest targets ever. His employer was strange, no doubt about that. Extremely dedicated though, he had to admit that. His boss had paid Silla extra to become a teacher at the school the girls attended. Talk about over kill. But his money counted and that's all that mattered. Still, he had been sitting in his car for 3 hours and there was still no sign of them. What could they be doing in there? Whatever it was, he was pretty sure they were having more fun then he was.

Zamballa

Irma narrowly ducked a giant fist.

"You know, all things considered, this has been a really weird day!"

"What part?" Cornelia responded while evacuating some of the younger trees, "The Zamballan civil war, the tree fight, the tree meeting, or the giant monster attacking for no reason!"

"All of the above!" Irma yelled back. She, and the rest of the girls, were in panic mode. They didn't know what this thing was, or what it wanted, but they knew it wasn't good. Taranee flew in close and hit the monster with a column of fire. It had no effect.

"Taranne, stop! It will only make things worse!" Kadma said. She was standing beside Bitter Root, the only Zamballan who hadn't fled right away. Taranee and Will flew beside them.

"Irma! Hay Lin! Cornelia! Try to slow that thing down!" Will called, and then turned back to Kadma.

"But don't attack it directly!" Kadma added.

Hay Lin turned to face the giant standing over her.

"Right," Hay Lin said, "slow it down without attacking it. Because otherwise it'd be too easy."

"Do you know what this thing is Kadma?" Taranee asked.

"Yes. It's called an Emris. It was a weapon of King Ari II during the great war of Arkhanta over forty years ago. It thought it was locked up in the Tower of Mists."

"Tower of mists?"

"Kandrakar's Prison."

"Then how did it get here?" Bitter Root asked.

"I do not know" Kadma replied.

"How come you don't want us attacking it?" Taranee asked.

"It feeds on magical energy." Kadma said. "Look at how big it is now. It's at least twice the size it used to be!"

Kadma was right. The Emris was now at least twenty feet tall.

"So how are we supposed to defeat it if we can't use magic?" Will asked

"You can't" Kadma said. "You need someone without magic powers to fight it and win."

"Where are we going to find someone who can fight that without powers?" Will asked, but nobody was listening. They were too busy watching Bitter Root and the Emris fighting to the death.

Meridian

Caleb sat at his second table of the day. This time though, there were only four chairs. Elyon, who was looking over the mission report from the Infinite City, filled one of them. The other two were empty. They were going to be filled by Captian Hyatt and the man that they found in the Infinite City. Elyon had requested to speak with both of them, but they had to pass a medical check first, so for now, it was just Caleb and Elyon.

"So when were you going to tell me about this team?" Elyon said, still looking at the report. Caleb looked at her.

"How do you know about the team?" Caleb asked. "I haven't said anything about it."

Elyon smiled a little.

"I'm the Queen, Caleb. It's my job to know." Caleb raised an eyebrow when he heard this.

"Alright, so Vathek has a big mouth." Elyon admitted. "Don't worry. I think it's a good idea. How come you didn't tell me right away?"

"Because I didn't think it would work." Caleb said

"Well, at least you have confidence." Elyon said with a smile. "By the way, how are you going to lead this team and be head of the Meridian military?"

"I'm not." Caleb replied

After hearing this, Elyon looked up from the report for the first time.

"Then who is?" she asked.

"Aldarn." Caleb replied

"Aldarn? Caleb, Aldarn's great but…"

"Aldarn is every bit as capable of leading the military as I am." Caleb said. Elyon just looked at him for a bit.

"You really want this don't you?" she said.

"Yes."

Elyon chuckled.

"This is just because Cornelia has a team, isn't it?" she asked.

"She has a team, Nerissa had three teams, even Matt has a team! The cat's more useful then I am!"

Elyon started laughing as Hyatt and the man from the city walked in the door.

Zamballa

Bitter Root and the Emris hit the ground hard. Emris was a bit more agile then Bitter Root and got to his feet first. Bitter Root was stronger, but not by much. He managed to deflect Emris's attack, and launch one of his own. Emris rolled with the punch and leapt once again at Bitter Root.

"There must be something we can do…" said Cornelia faintly.

"No. This is Bitter Root's fight. The best we can do is make sure that the other Zamballans are safe." Kadma said.

"Their safe alright." Irma said, "They all booked it as soon as this thing showed up."

"Come on!" said Will, "They're heading into the forest. The least we can do is cheer him on."

Emris threw Bitter Root into the dense forest, but Bitter Root kept his balance. Emris charged once again, but Bitter Root side-stepped it and hurled Emris to the ground. He wasn't fast enough to dodge Emris's backhand though. Bitter Root fell to the ground and the Emris tried to keep him there.

The two of them rolled along the forest floor, exchanging blows. Bitter Root was stronger, but the Emris had decades of fighting experience, and quickly got the upper hand. Bitter Root blocked as many as he could, but it was clear he was outmatched. He managed to separate himself from the monster and catch his breath. He was severely injured though, and appeared to have given everything he had. Emris tensed, ready to finish it.

"You are strong, but you forgot one thing," Bitter Root said.

Emris either didn't hear or didn't care. He lunged for Bitter Root. Bitter Root waited for the last second and then dove out of the way. The Emris soared through the row of shrubs behind Bitter Root, and right over the cliff that they disguised.

"This is my world." Bitter Root said as he watched the Emris fall for what seemed like forever, before it hit the ground in a puff of dirt.

"Wow. That is one kick-butt tree!" Irma said.

Bitter Root walked back to the Meeting field. When the other Zamballans saw him, they fell to their knees and started chanting his name.

"King Bitter Root! King Bitter Root!"

"Looks like everything worked out perfectly!" Hay Lin said over the Zamballans cheers.

"There is some details to work out, but yes, this would seem to be a perfect solution." Kadma said. Will thought that Kadma actually meant that, which gave her something else to smile about.

"Yep," Will said, "It's almost as if someone planned it."

Kandrakar

The Oracle stirred the waters for a second time, and the image of Bitter Root disappeared. He smiled. At least it worked, he thought, Zamballa has their King. His smile quickly faded as he started to walk back to the Council room. Now it was time to face the consequences of his actions.


	7. Best Laid Plans

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 7

Best Laid Plans…

Kandrakar

Kadma and the Guardians exited the fold and entered Kandrakar. They were weary, both mentally and physically, but they returned victorious. One look at the council room, though, put Will on guard. Only about a quarter of the seats remained filled. The Oracle looked older and more tired then Will had ever seen him before. In the front row, the Yan Lin Altermere sat and gave her granddaughter only a weak smile. Will looked at the other four girls. They all had a concerned look on their face, just like Will. They knew something was off. It seemed the only person who didn't notice anything was Kadma.

"Oracle!" Kadma said while walking towards Kandrakar's leader, "Our mission was a complete success! Zamballa has a new king!"

"I know." was all the Oracle said.

Will looked at him. She had a question on her mind, but she didn't want to ask it. All she wanted to do was go home, give her mom a hug, eat supper, call Matt and be happy for Zamballa. But she couldn't. Not while there was still one thing that didn't make sense.

"How did the Emris escape?" she asked. "Kandrakar seems like it would be a tough place to get out of. How did the Emris leave the Tower of Mists, and more importantly, how did it get to Zamballa?"

The Oracle looked right at Will. Will saw determination in his eyes, with a touch of sadness and regret.

"I will not lie to you Guardian," He said after what seemed to Will like an eternity, "I owe you that much. The Emris was on Zamballa because I sent it there."

Meridian

"…We defeated them eventually, but many of our men were wounded." Captain Hyatt said. He had just finished recapping the events that took place in the infinite city to Caleb and Elyon.

"And that's when you found… what did you say your name was?" Elyon asked.

"Delhauser" the man answered. "But my friends just call me Dee."

"Very well, Dee it is!" Elyon said, smiling.

"How is it that nobody noticed you were gone?" Caleb asked. Dee lowered his head.

"I was an only child, and both my parents died at the hands of that monster Phobos." Dee said, clenching his fist, "I… never really knew anyone else. I'm not surprised nobody missed me."

"You poor thing." Elyon said, reaching over and holding Dee's hand. He smiled at her. "I think that's all for now, isn't Caleb?"

"Just two more questions, my Queen. Captain Hyatt, in your report you described Dee as about thirty years old. But now he doesn't look a day over twenty. How come the difference?"

"I'm not sure?" Hyatt shrugged, "I guess the bad lighting in the City played tricks on my eyes."

"Your other question?" Elyon asked.

"How's your daughter, Aria? Sounds like quite a first mission."

"She's fine." Hyatt said with a smile, "She's going to be quite a fighter."

"I'm sure she will." Caleb replied. Hyatt and Dee left, leaving Caleb and Elyon alone again.

"Well, what do you think?" Elyon asked Caleb.

"I'm not sure." he said, "It's an incredible story. Almost too incredible."

"Ah, you're just being paranoid." Elyon said.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Caleb said, "You seemed to like him."

"Yeah."

"A lot."

"Yeah."

"A lot, A lot."

"Yeah."

"I mean really a lot."

"Caleb!"

Caleb laughed. It was the simple things…

Kandrakar

Kadma took a step backwards.

"You what?" she said faintly.

"Believe me, if I felt I had any other choice…" the Oracle said.

"You planned this whole thing!" Taranee said. "I knew it was too perfect."

"You set up a menace. One that you knew we couldn't defeat." Irma added. The rest of the girls were catching on.

"Then one of the Zamballans would have to step up and fight." Cornelia said.

"And when someone did win, they would be able to become King!" said Hay Lin

"You planned the whole thing. You knew you were risking our lives and the lives of the Zamballans and you did it anyway! How could you?" Will said.

"To not begin to question my decisions, girls! I thank you for your efforts, but your work is over. I will return you to your home." the Oracle said, beginning to wave his hand.

"Oh, no! We're not going anywhere!" Will said defiantly.

But before they knew it, a familiar blue light enveloped the girls. The next thing Will knew, she found herself no longer in Kandrakar, but in…

Heatherfield

…Cornelia's bedroom.

"Of all the ungrateful…" Irma kicked a stuffed bear across a room, missing Napoleon's head by inches.

"Hey, watch it!" Napoleon said.

"Will, we can't sit back and let the Oracle get away with this. We have to go back!" Taranee said.

"Yeah, I don't think Mr. Cuddles can take to many more hits like that." Cornelia added, retrieving the bear.

"Oh, don't worry." Will said, "He's not getting away that easily." She held the heart up and sliced the air, creating a familiar cut. Will walked through the portal, and came right out the other side, still in Cornelia's bedroom.

"Well that didn't work." said Hay Lin

"This can't be a coincidence." Taranee said, "The Oracle must be blocking our return somehow."

"I don't believe this!" Will yelled, "After all we've done for him."

"Settle down, Will!" Cornelia said, nervously eyeing her other stuffed toys, "My parents are certainly home by now." Will sighed. She held up the heart again. This time, the fold disappeared, and the girls returned to human form.

"Cornelia's right." Hay Lin said with a yawn, "I think we've done all we can tonight. Let's just get some rest. I'm calling my mom to pick me up. Do you want a ride home Irma?"

"Sure, thanks Hay Lin." Irma said as she headed for the door. "By the way," she added, turning to Cornelia, "Mr. Cuddles?"

"Shut up, Irma."

The four girls headed down to the front steps of the building. Will and Taranee both waved goodbye and headed off for home, leaving Hay Lin and Irma waiting.

"I still think we should have tried to do more." Irma said.

"What more were we going to do?" Hay Lin responded. "If the Oracle wants you out of Kandrakar, then you're out of Kandrakar."

"It just makes me so angry!" Irma said. "We stop a war and what does he do? He banishes us back to Earth! What a jerk!"

"Look at it this way," Hay Lin said. "When we woke up, Zamballa had a civil war going on, and no ruler. Now they're at peace, and they have a great King. We've had worse days." Before Irma could respond, a car pulled up with Mrs. Lin inside, and the girls got inside.

Raphael Sylla sat dumb-founded in his car. The listing device he had placed in the bushes worked perfectly, but that was certainty not the conversation most teenaged girls had. Zamballa? Oracle? Kandahar? Why were they talking about Afghanistan? Oh well, he thought, he wasn't getting paid to figure that out. All he had to do was listen and report. And that's just what he was going to do. He dialed a number on his cell.

"Hello? It's me. Yeah, they just got back. Yeah, the device worked, I heard everything they said. They mentioned all sorts of weird things. They were mad at some guy called the Oracle. Something about a civil war on Zamballa? They also mention Kandahar. What? Kandrakar? No, I think they said Kandahar. How do you know? Whatever, I heard what I heard. No, they all just went home. That's right. Sure, I'll see them tomorrow. Bye."

The man tapped his fingers on the desk. Kandrahar! If only Sylla knew how foolish he sounded. He hadn't heard anything called Zamballa before, though. Could it be a new world? And why were they mad at the Oracle? Could this be used against them? He glanced over at his alarm board. It had gone off loudly about five minuets ago, and had beeped steadily ever since. It was as if there was a small, magical haze over the city. None of this made any sense. Perhaps he should start making moves of his own. For now though, he just tapped his fingers, contemplating the future. And the gears continued to turn.


	8. Eye of the Beholder

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 8

Eye of the Beholder

Meridian

Caleb was reviewing some Meridian history when Drake burst into his room.

"Get your head out of the books Caleb, we just got a report of an attack in a nearby village!"

Caleb stood up.

"Gather the rest of the guard." he said, "Let's go check it out."

Drake ran off to get the others. Caleb walked over, slung his sword over his shoulder and took a deep breath. Show time.

Heatherfield

Irma wanted to smash it to bits. She lined up her target, raised her hand and began to bring her fist down for a devastating blow. She stopped herself at the last second, and simply pressed the off button instead of smashing her alarm clock into a million pieces. She groggily got herself out of bed, got dressed, and stumbled down stairs for breakfast. She mumbled hello to her family and shoveled some cereal in her mouth. She walked out the door and headed to school. It wasn't till she got there that she checked her schedule. Her first period was an hour of computer class with Mr. Sylla. Maybe this wasn't going to be such a bad day after all, she thought.

Ten minuets later, Irma sat in front of her computer screen, with her hand in the air. Sitting next to her was Hay Lin, and next to her was Taranee. Hay Lin was glancing over at Irma, while Tarnaee was just stared at her screen.

"Do you notice anything weird going on over there?" Irma asked Taranee.

"Over where?" Taranee asked, lost in thought.

"Where Irma is." Hay Lin replied.

"Yes," Taranee said, still not looking away form her screen. "Irma is very weird."

"Taranee, Focus!"

Taranee jumped, and looked at Hay Lin.

"I'm sorry Hay Lin, I was just thinking of something. What's Irma doing this time?"

"She's talking to Mr. Sylla. A lot." Hay Lin said.

"So? That's not weird. You know she has a crush on him." Taranee said.

"Yeah," said Hay Lin, "But he's enjoying it."

Taranee looked over at Irma. Sure enough, Sylla was asking just as many questions as Irma. He was even laughing at some of her jokes.

"You're right," Taranee said, "That is weird."

"What were you thinking about?" Hay Lin asked her friend.

"Hm? Oh, nothing." Taranee said, turning back to her screen.

Oh great, Hay Lin thought to her self, now everyone's acting weird.

Meridian

All six members of the Honor Guard rode on horse back towards the village of Avalon. It was a small village, and even with horses was an hour ride from the castle. This gave Drake an opportunity to update the other members, as he was the only one who received direct word from Elyon.

"The report came in about a half hour ago, so we'd have to assume the attack started around two hours ago." Drake said.

"Two hours?" Vathek said, "They could all be dead by now!"

"It's an outskirt village." Julian replied, "We haven't had time to get an outpost out there. They're lucky we know about this at all."

"What do we know about the attack itself?" Raythor asked. Drake glared at him and looked at Caleb. Caleb just nodded.

"Not too much," Drake said in a voice that sent chills up Raythor's spine, "just a vague description of some animal creatures. It didn't sound like anything I've heard of before."

"So let me get this straight," Tynar said, "We're going to a place we know nothing about, fighting an enemy we know nothing about, and we're an hour away from home and any reinforcements."

"Yep, pretty much." Caleb said with a smile.

"Great," Tynar replied, "just checking."

Heatherfield

Hay Lin waved as Will and Cornelia approached the lunch table. Irma and Taranee slid over to make room

"How was computer class?" Irma said with her head in her hands, "Was it as dreamy as ours?"

Cornelia looked at Hay Lin as she sat down.

"Still?" she said. Hay Lin just nodded. Irma pouted her lips.

"You're just jealous because he appreciates me for who I am." she said.

"To be perfectly honest, Irma, I find him a little creepy." Will said, "He spent almost the entire class working with Cornelia and me. I don't think he even talked to anyone else."

"I'm with Will on this one." Cornelia added. "He's weird. Even by our standards."

"I am shocked and offended by these accusations!" Irma said, "Raphael is a wonderful educator and a gift to this school. The only reason he gave you help, Cornelia, is because you so obviously need it!"

"Are you alright Taranee? You've been quiet all day." Hay Lin asked, desperate to change the subject. Taranee had been stirring her lunch with a fork for the last ten minuets.

"Yeah, I'm alright," she said, looking up. "Just… thinking."

"About what happened yesterday?" Irma asked.

"No, no. Not about that. It something personal." Taranee replied. The girls looked at each other.

"Whatever it is, Taranee, you can always tell us. We'll help if we can." Will said.

"Thanks Will. But really, don't worry about it." Taranee said as she continued to stir her lunch.

Meridian

Caleb dismounted his horse and looked at the village. Couldn't be more then a hundred buildings, he thought. Signs of a battle were everywhere, and sounds of a fight could be heard in the distance.

"Well," Vathek said, "sounds like some of them are still alive."

"Attacking innocents for no reason. These things remind me of you, Raythor." Drake said.

"Nobody's ever heard of them. These things remind me of you, Drake" Raythor replied.

Drake pulled out his daggers and turned on Raythor. Raythor pulled out his own sword. Caleb separated them before things got out of hand.

"Stop it!" Caleb said. "You're both out of line! We've got a job to do. Let's focus and do it." They both sheathed their swords.

"Now," Caleb said. "Vathek, Raythor and Tynar, assist the villagers with the fight. Drake, you me and Julian will talk with whoever's in charge and figure out…"

But before Caleb could finish his sentence, an arrow slammed into the trunk of a tree, just inches from Caleb's nose. Everyone looked up to see a young man crouched on the branch of another tree. He was holding a bow with an arrow in it.

"That was a warning." The man said, "The next one goes between your eyes unless you call off your creatures, leave, and never come back!"

Caleb looked around at his teammates. All of them took a step back.

"Don't look at us!" Tynar said. "This team was your idea."

Caleb sighed. It was going to be a long day.


	9. Communication Breakdown

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 9

Communication Breakdown

Meridian

Caleb raised his hands.

"We mean you no harm!" he called up to the man in the tree. "We have nothing to do with whatever is attacking you. My name is Caleb and this is the Honor Guard of Meridian. We are here on behalf of Queen Elyon. We heard your village was in trouble and we've come to help."

The man leapt from the branch and put his arrow back in his quiver. Caleb was able to get a better look at him now that he was in the light. He was much younger then Caleb had first thought, no more then a couple years older then he was. His face was weathered though, much more then it should be for someone his age. He scowled at the guard, something that Caleb thought he probably did a lot. This looked like a man who had experienced a lot.

"What's your name?" Caleb asked.

"Walli. You're from the castle?"

"Yes." Caleb said. He hoped that when Walli heard this, he would realize his mistake and allow the Guard to help. He didn't.

"Leave immediately." Walli said turning his back on Caleb, "You are not needed here."

"There must be something we can do." Caleb said, "There is still fighting going on, is there not? We're trained warriors, and I'm sure we have more experience with these type of situations then anyone in your village."

Walli stopped and slowly turned back to face Caleb.

"Do you think you are the only one who's suffered? Do you think that just because you have a team and live in a castle you've overcome more? Do you think that Phobos and Nerissa spent their entire time fighting you? We may not be famous but we've had to deal with just as much pain as you have. Except we didn't have guardians or magic to help us fight our battles. We had to fight for ourselves. No armies or magical warriors ever came to our side when we were attacked. They were too worried about the precious city and it's Queen. So don't you dare tell me about your training or your experience. I won't stop you from entering the city, but I advise you to go home and forget about us. We've survived in the past without your help, we can survive now too. It's what we do."

And with that, Walli turned and ran off in the direction of the battle, notching an arrow as he did so. The Guard just stood there, dumb-founded. Caleb had always thought he fought for all of Meridian. He never knew there were people who felt like this. Was Walli right? Were they to focused on the city that they couldn't see all the other people who needed help? How many others were like Walli that Caleb didn't know about? He didn't know what to do. Fortunately, Raythor did.

"There are people in there who still need our help." Raythor said as he walked past Caleb, "So I'm going to help them." Then he took off after Walli, sword in hand.

Caleb turned around and looked at his teammates. They all had their weapons drawn and ready to fight. Caleb just nodded and the five of them sprinted towards the battle.

Heatherfield

Raphael Sylla was once again uncomfortable. This time though, it wasn't a physical pain. His nervousness was mostly due to the room he was in and the man who sat in front of him. He wasn't sure exactly what it was about the room that made him feel so strange. It was almost as if he could feel unbelievable sadness from the walls themselves. Almost as if they had absorbed all the misery from the man in front of him. The man himself, however, showed no signs of sadness, only an unyielding determination. Whatever it was, Sylla wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

"I've identified the all five of the girls." Sylla said quickly. "They all seem to be very close friends, closer then most kids their age. I also know details about each of their families, where they live and how they act. Just like you asked."

"Then it is time to move on to stage two." The man said.

"Which is?"

The man handed a picture to Sylla. It showed a pink jewel on it. The heart of Kandrakar.

"Find which of the girls holds this talisman." the man said.

"And after I find that out?" Sylla asked nervously.

"Nothing." the man said, "For now."

Meridian

Elyon dismounted her horse and surveyed the battlefield. Large, dead, dog like creatures were strewn across the area, creating a rather gruesome picture. Elyon was glad to see that there were much fewer Meridianites on the ground. She walked over to Caleb, who was cleaning off his sword.

"Well?" she said.

"We've faced worse." Caleb said with a shrug.

"And the villagers? They didn't get in your way, did they?" Elyon asked.

"No." Caleb said, glancing over at Walli, "In fact, in a lot of ways, they've done better then we have"

Elyon was confused my this remark, but before she could ask what he meant, Caleb noticed something else.

"Hey! What's Dee doing here?" he asked.

"Turns out he was a doctor before he got captured." Elyon answered, "Our medical team is pretty under manned right now, so I let him come. He was quite enthusiastic about it too. Almost begged me to come."

"My Queen! Come here!" It was Dee, shouting from across the field. He was crouching over the body of one of the creatures. Elyon and Caleb ran to his side.

"What is it Dee?" Elyon asked.

"These creatures," he said, "they're the same ones that kidnapped me."

"They must have followed the team from the Infinite City and found an exit." Caleb said.

"How many of these things were in the Infinite City, Dee? Elyon asked.

"I'm not sure," Dee replied. "They all look the same. I never saw more then twenty at a time, but there might have been hundreds. It's a big city."

Caleb looked at Elyon. They both knew what this meant. If they escaped here, they could escape anywhere. Just then, Walli approached the three of them.

"Caleb." he said as he neared them.

"Who are you?" Elyon asked.

"I'm Walli. Who are you?"

"I'm Queen Elyon, ruler of Meridian and rightful heir to…"

"Got it." Walli said, cutting Elyon off, "Caleb, I need a word with you." Elyon seemed taken aback by this lack of respect.

"Don't take it personally." Caleb told Elyon with a grin. "What do you want to talk about, Walli?" Walli led them away from the others.

"Two things. First, I wanted to… apologize." Walli said. "I should not have said some of the things I did when we first met."

"Don't worry about it." Caleb said, "There was a lot of truth in your words."

"Yes." Walli said, "Yes there was."

Caleb sighed.

"The second thing?"

"I overheard your man's theory about what these things were. I didn't understand all of it, but I did understand enough to know that more of these things might appear in the future."

"And?" Caleb said.

"I want you to tell me if they ever show up again." Walli said, "They attacked and killed some of the people in this village, and I would like another shot at them, so to speak."

"I'd love too." Caleb said, "But how? Your village is an hour away by horse."

"You'll figure something out." Walli said. Then he turned around, and rejoined his people. Caleb just sighed.

Heatherfield

Nigel stood underneath a familiar overpass and looked at his watch. Taranee was late. Why did she want to meet him here anyways? He thought they were going out. He was about to leave when he saw her approaching.

"Tarnaee! Over here!" He called. Taranee did not answer, but continued to walk towards him.

"Taranee, are you all right?" Nigel asked when she got closer. Then, to Nigel's amazement, Taranee's hands burst into flames right in front of his eyes. Even more shocking then that was the fact that Taranee did not seem surprised by this in the least.

"Taranee, what…?" was all Nigel managed to say. Taranee continued to look right at him.

"Nigel," she said, "we need to talk."


	10. Coming and Going

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 10

Coming and Going

Heatherfield

"Nigel, we need to talk."

Nigel didn't know exactly what he was looking at, so he did the only thing that made sense to him. He threw his jacket over his girlfriend's flaming hands.

"Nigel!" Taranee said, putting out her hands before the jacket hit them, "It's okay, it's normal."

"This is normal!" Nigel said.

"Yes."

"How?"

Taranee took a deep breath.

"It's complicated." she said, "But I can explain."

And she did. She told him about how she could control fire, and how the other four girls could control the other elements. She told him about Phobos and Nerissa. She told him about Elyon and Meridian. She even told him about Cedric's attack on Heatherfield a couple weeks ago. She told him everything. He didn't say anything, at least not right away.

"I don't believe it." Nigel said at last.

"I didn't think you would." Taranee said, "So I brought proof." With that, she took the Heart of Kandrakar that she borrowed from Will earlier in the day, and transformed in front of him. She also hovered slightly for added effect.

"But… how?" Nigel asked, vainly looking for wires.

"It's magic." Taranee said. Nigel sat down.

"I… I don't know about this Taranee." Nigel said.

"I know this is a shock, Nigel, but…"

"This is isn't who I thought was my girlfriend was." Nigel said, "I like you because you're a nice, sweet girl, not some mystical warrior."

"You like me because I'm 'nice and sweet'?" Taranee asked.

"No… I just, I don't know!" Nigel said, "Look, this isn't coming out right. I do like you, but this is just too much, too fast."

Neither of them said anything for a while. They both just sat there, watching the sun go down. Taranee didn't know what to say, or even what to think. Why couldn't Nigel just accept this? After all, Matt did. What made Matt any better then Nigel? But on the other hand, this was a huge thing to understand, let alone accept. Was it fair for her to spring this on him so suddenly?

"What if you get hurt?" Nigel asked. "You said this Phobos guy had almost unlimited power. Did you get any training? You could have been killed!"

Taranee paused for a second. She had thought about this before. Kandrakar never did give any training. What if they did get hurt?

"No." She said with confidence, "I trust my teammates. We're strong enough as a team to overcome anything."

"Then what if I'm not strong enough?" Nigel said quietly.

Taranee reached for Nigel's hand but Nigel stood up.

"I'm sorry, Taranee." He said, "I just can't handle this right now. I need time to think about this."

"I understand," Taranee said, holding back tears. "One more thing. You can't tell this to anybody, got it."

"Don't worry, I'll never hurt you." Nigel gave Taranee a weak smile, then turned and headed for home.

"I think you just did." Taranee said to herself. Then she got up, put the Heart back in her bag, and headed in the opposite direction.

Meridian

Caleb, Elyon and Aldarn surveyed the small battlefield. Yesterday, after the City Creatures, as they were now being called, first attacked, they speculated that they might show up other places as well. Today, they were proved right. A larger group of creatures attacked a small village just outside of the city limits. This time, however, the Honor Guard and the Meridian Military were able to get there quickly enough to stop the attack before anything major happened.

"You didn't lie when you said these things were tough." Aldarn said.

"These ones were even stronger then yesterday." Caleb said with a frown, "I just wish we could have let Walli know sooner. That rider we sent probably just got there."

"Actually," Elyon said, "I may have fixed that." As she said this, she pulled out two green, crystal rings and handed them to Aldarn and Caleb.

"What are these?" Aldarn asked as he slipped it on his finger.

"They're communication devices." Elyon said, as Caleb looked at them skeptically, "The rider has one with him. If he's got there already, he'll have given it to Walli and we'll be able to talk to him directly."

"Impressive." Aldarn said, "Where did you get these?"

"I had Julian and some of the elders whip them up with the stuff in the Mage's old lab. These are just prototypes, so I'm not sure if they work. If they do, we'll make more and give them to everybody." Elyon said.

"Why are they green?" Caleb asked.

"It goes well with your hazel eyes." Elyon said with a smile.

"Well, let's see if they work." Caleb said, rolling his hazel eyes. He looked at the ring, and then back at Elyon. "Uh, how do these work?"

"They're telepathic." Elyon said, "Just think of who you want to talk to and they'll hear you."

"Walli, can you hear me?" Caleb asked into the ring.

"Yes, Caleb, I can hear you." Walli's voice came from out of the ring.

"Hello? Hello! Wow, these are amazing!" Aldarn said.

"Who's that?" Walli asked.

"That's Aldarn." Caleb said, "He's the head of our military."

Walli mumbled something to himself.

"Am I to understand that these creatures have attacked again?" Walli asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid so." Caleb answered.

"Then I will be there shortly." Walli said.

"That won't be necessary," Aldarn said, "the threat is already over."

"Nonetheless," Walli said, "these creatures will most likely attack again, and I intend to be there when they do. Expect me shortly."

Caleb put the ring down.

"Yay." Elyon said with a frown, "Walli's coming."

"How can I dislike him so much after only hearing him for a minute?" Aldarn asked.

Caleb didn't really feel like defending Walli, mostly because he agreed with the others. He knew he was just trying to protect his people, just like Caleb was, but did he have to be such a jerk about it? And worse, would Caleb himself have been like this if it wasn't for the Guardians help? Could he have been this… serious? His thoughts were interrupted as he noticed Elyon's dress for the first time.

"You're awfully dressed up for someone visiting a battlefield." He asked Elyon.

"If you must know," Elyon said, blushing, "I was about to go on a date when these things attacked."

"Really? You?" Aldarn asked. Elyon glared at him.

"Uh, I mean, with who?" he quickly said.

Elyon looked out on the battlefield and saw Dee, helping one of the wounded villagers. He gave her a smile and a wave. Elyon blushed, and then waved back. Then she turned to look at Caleb and Aldarn. They both had huge grins on their faces.

"Ah, stop it." Elyon said with a smile.

Heatherfield

Irma and Hay Lin stared at Taranee. Yesterday she had been quiet, but now she was downright scary. She didn't respond to their hellos, instead, she just opened her bag, pulled out her binder and stared at her computer screen. Irma and Hay Lin looked at each other. They didn't know what was bothering their friend, but they would have to find out another time. Mr. Sylla was coming this way.

Raphael wandered over to the girls, trying to act casual. He was actually searching for any sign of the jewel he was supposed to find. He muttered hello to Irma, when suddenly something purple caught his eye. There it was! Taranee had it in her bag! That was easy, he thought to himself. He did a double check to make sure it was the right one, then headed back to his desk. This was going to make his boss very happy.


	11. The Big Picture

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 11

The Big Picture

Meridian

A somewhat less then enthusiastic Honor Guard welcomed Walli to the castle. They had spent all of the day either fighting the City Creatures, or cleaning up after them. None of them really felt like dealing with Walli. Still, Elyon, Aldarn, Caleb and the rest of the Honor Guard were all smiles as Walli dismounted his horse and walked towards them.

"Walli of Avalon," Elyon said, "on behalf of all of Meridian, I welcome you…"

"With all due respect, your highness," Walli said, cutting her off, "spare the formalities. I'm here on business, not pleasure."

"Oh, I don't think there's any doubt about that." Elyon said under her breath. Walli either didn't hear it, or didn't care, as he merely surveyed the battlefield.

"I see you told the truth. These creatures did indeed attack again and they have indeed been defeated." Walli said, "My only regret is that I did not have a chance to fight them myself."

"To be honest, we could have used your strength." Julian said, trying to play peacemaker, "They were much tougher then the ones we fought in your village."

"Although I suspect you'll get your chance for revenge soon." Vathek added, "I see no reason to think that this was their last attack."

"Which is my exact reason for being here." Walli said. "Now, who will show me to my room?"

"Caleb, would you?" Elyon asked.

"Actually," Caleb replied with a smile, "as leader of the Meridian Military, I believe it's Aldarn's job to personally escort all visitors to their room's"

"Of course." Aldarn said, shooting daggers at Caleb, "Right this way, Walli."

"Maybe this won't be so bad after all." Caleb said with a smile as he watched Aldarn and Walli leave. Elyon just sighed and walked into the castle.

"I can't believe I missed a date for this."

Heatherfield

Matt decided to join the girls for lunch today, and naturally sat beside Will. The other girls, except for Taranee, all said 'Hi' to him.

"Why have you decided to grace us with your presence today, Matt?" Cornelia asked.

"Yeah," Hay Lin added, "don't you normally sit with Nigel."

"Yeah, I do." Matt said. "But he's been really quiet today. He said he wanted to sit by himself."

"That's funny," Irma said, "Taranee was really quiet today in computer class oh…" Irma stopped herself short, realizing what was going on. Taranee looked up from her lunch to see five pairs of eyes staring back.

"I'm sorry," Irma said, "I didn't realize…"

"What happened?" Will asked.

"It's okay, you can tell us." Cornelia added.

Taranee took a deep breath.

"I told him I was a Guardian."

The girls were too stunned to say anything for a while, so they just sat there in silence. Unsurprisingly, Irma was the first one to talk.

"You did what?"

"I told him about us and who we really are." Taranee said. "I told him about the magic, about Elyon and Meridian, about everything."

"How did he take it?" Hay Lin asked. One look from Taranee told her everything she needed to know.

"He said he needed time. That he wasn't sure where we should go from here."

"Nigel's a good guy." Matt said. "I'm sure he'll like you for who you are."

Nobody said anything for a while.

"Is that why you needed the Heart last night." Will said, breaking the silence.

"Yes." Taranee said, pulling the Heart out of her bag. It glowed slightly as Will took hold of it. Will slipped it into her own bag. Suddenly, the girls' thoughts were interrupted as the bell rang.

"Well, back to work." Irma said as she got off of her chair, "Enjoy your time with Mr. Sylla, girls, I know I did."

Ten minuets later, Will and Cornelia were sitting in front of their computer screens.

"I can't help thinking about Taranee and Nigel." Will said.

"Me too." Cornelia said, "I didn't want to say anything in front of Taranee, but can we trust Nigel with this information? It kind of defeats the purpose of a secret identity if you tell everybody."

"What other choice do we have?" Will said. "You know, I've been thinking. The two of us have been lucky so far, but Taranee may lose a relationship, something that's really important to her, because of W.I.T.C.H.. It's the first time any of us have had to sacrifice something big because of our other lives. What else are we going to have to give up?"

"Well, as you said, what other choice do we have? People need us to be guardians. Sometimes, their lives depend on it. And besides, think of all the good times we've had. I'm pretty proud to be a Guardian."

"I guess you're right." Will said. "Remember when Blunk and Caleb smashed Irma's washing machine?"

The girls smiled at the memory. Then they remembered why they we're talking about this in the first place, and the smiles faded.

"Taranee's stronger then you think." Cornelia said, "She'll get through this fine. Besides, they haven't broken up yet. Don't you believe in the power of love?"

Will frowned.

"Since when are you such a hopeless romantic?"

"Uh oh." Cornelia said, wrinkling her nose, "I think some of Irma has rubbed off on me."

The two girls laughed until they saw Sylla glaring at them.

"We better start working on this assignment." Cornelia said. "It's due at the end of class."

"Good point. Mack," she said, now turning to her computer, "can you open that file I saved yesterday?"

"Sure thing, Will." The computer said back.

"You might want to turn down the techno talk Will." Cornelia said. "I think Sylla's getting suspicious."

"Actually, he's been watching us all semester." Will said, glancing over at their teacher, "It's starting to get a little weird."

"Look at the expression on his face." Cornelia said, "He must have eaten at the cafeteria today."

Sylla sat at his desk, rubbing his temples. What happened to this being an easy mission? he thought. Find which of the girls has a jewel. He thought he had done just that when he saw the Taranee girl with it. But now he just saw the same stupid jewel in Will's bag. His boss had said there was only one jewel. He jotted down some notes on what he had seen, and took a deep breath. He wasn't looking forward to tomorrow's meeting.

The next day Sylla walked into the cold, dark room feeling no more confortable then he did the day before. He told his boss of the dual findings and awaited the eruption. Surprisingly, none came.

"Both Taranee and Will?" the man behind the desk said.

"Yes." Sylla said. He was feeling more confident now. After all, he was a professional. There was no way he was going to let some old man behind a desk intimidate him.

"Interesting." the man said.

There was silence for about a minute, but that minute felt like an hour to Sylla. He felt any confidence he had gained quickly slip away. The man behind the desk said nothing. He just sat there, thinking.

"Uh, boss?" Sylla said timidly.

"Figure out a way to find out who truly holds the jewel." the man said. "Then report back."

"Isn't it possible that there are just two of these things?" Sylla asked.

"Possible, but unlikely." The man said. "Do not talk to me again before you know for sure who has it."

Sylla was about to ask another question when the door opened automatically behind him. He decided to hold his question for another day, and exited the room. The door closed quickly after him.

The man got up once Sylla was gone. He was right not to underestimate these girls, he thought to himself. These next few days would be very interesting, and challenging. But already he could feel a plan entering his mind. He smiled, the first time he had done so in a very long time. Things were nearing an end, he thought. All would be as it should. Soon. And the gears continued to turn.


	12. Spy Games

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 12

Spy games

Heatherfield

Will closed her locker, and clamped the lock on tight. As she walked down the empty hallway, she looked at her watch. There were still twenty minuets before class started. The reason for her being so early was that it allowed her to get a ride with her mom. One look out the window at the heavy snowfall told her she had made the right choice. None of the girls were at school yet, so she had nothing to do for the moment. She decided to head to her classroom.

"Will!"

Will quickly turned around, but saw no one behind her.

"Will!"

She turned in a complete circle but could still not find the source of the voice. Then she looked up to see what class she was standing beside, and quickly realized where the noise was coming from.

"Will!"

It was one of the computers from the computer class calling her name.

"Will!" "Will!" "Will!" "Will!" "Will!" "Will!" "Will!" "Will!" "Will!" "Will!" "Will!" "Will!" "Will!" "Will!"

Actually, it was all the computers from the computer class calling her name. She entered the classroom, covering her ears.

"Settle down, guys!" Will said over the noise, "What do you want?"

"Tell her!"

"Tell her!"

"Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!"

"Tell who?" Will said, once again covering her ears, "And tell them what?"

"I believe this time they're talking to Me." a voice said. This time, Will quickly identified it as the room's security camera.

"Tom?" Will said to the Camera, "What do they want you to tell me?"

"I saw something yesterday." Tom said.

"And?"

Tom sighed.

"Being a security camera comes with a lot of responsibility. I can't just go around telling anybody what I saw just because they're nosey." he said.

Will smiled.

"Boys," she said to the computers, "what do you think he should do?"

"Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!" "Tell her!"

"Alright, alright!" Tom said, "If it will give me some piece and quiet! Yesterday, I saw Mr. Sylla deliberately check all of your friends' bags, including yours. I believe he was looking for the Heart of Kandrakar, because when he saw it in Taranee's bag, he became quite happy, and when he saw it in yours as well, he became quite distressed."

"I knew he was creepy." Will said. "But why would he want the Heart? How would he even know about it?"

"I'm not sure," Tom said, "But I might know how you can find out."

"How?"

"He took notes after he had seen the Heart. The paper should still be on his desk."

Will quickly shuffled though the papers on Sylla's desk. She quickly found the one with her and Taranee's name on it. She took a few photos of it with her phone and headed for door.

"Thanks for the tip, Tom. Really. You too guys. See you later." Will said as she left.

"Bye Will!"

"Bye Will!"

"Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!" "Bye Will!"

Will quickly shut the door behind her to find Hay Lin in the hallway, covering her ears.

"What's going on in there?" Hay Lin asked.

"Take a look at this." Will said, showing her friend the photos on her phone.

"Woah." Hay Lin said. "Sylla's spying on us! At least he's not dating your mom like your other teacher."

"Get the girls together at lunch." Will said, ignoring Hay Lin's comment, "We need to figure out what we're going to do about this."

Meridian

An indescribable distance away, on a completely different world, Caleb roamed the hallways much like Will had. Except he did so for a different reason. He was bored. Not that he was complaining, mind you, he thought bored was good. Bored meant that no one was trying to kill him. Still, he wished there was someone he could talk to. His father and Aldarn were in a meeting, Tynar and Drake were out on patrol, Vathek was on guard duty, Raythor was in the training room and Walli was Walli. And Elyon… actually, Caleb didn't know where Elyon was. Maybe he should go find her.

Just then, he rounded a corner and saw Elyon. And she wasn't alone.

"I had a wonderful time tonight, Dee." she said.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Dee said, "It's amazing to see how far Meridian has come since I last saw it. You've done an excellent job as queen."

"Don't thank me," Elyon said, lowering her head, "The guardians and the rebellion did most of the work."

"Don't sell yourself short." Dee said, raising her chin gently, "You're special too."

Dee leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"Goodnight" he said, and turned to leave. Elyon stood there, thinking for a moment, then spun Dee around and kissed him on the lips.

"Sorry." she said, "It just needed to be done."

"Don't apologize." Dee said with a smile. "Now it's been a great night."

As Dee left, Elyon sighed and turned around to head to her room. She rounded the corner and saw Caleb. Elyon didn't think it was possible to have a grin that wide.

"Don't you have something better to do with your time then spy on me!" she said with a sigh.

"Not really, no." Caleb replied. Elyon glared at him.

"Actually, it was a complete accident Elyon, I swear."

"It better be." Elyon said, "This is the first relationship I've had in two years, and I don't need you messing it up."

"I not going to do anything," Caleb said, "I'm happy for you."

Elyon looked at him skeptically. Caleb rolled his eyes.

"And I promise not to mess it up." he said with a sigh.

"You better not." Elyon said. They started to walk down the hall, both deep in thought about the future.

"That was some kiss."

"Caleb…"

Heatherfield

An indescribable distance away, on a completely different world, Will was deep in thought as well. All the girls were. Will had just told them about Sylla.

"I don't believe it." Irma said with her arms crossed. "Sylla would never do something like that."

"Irma, be serious for once in your life." Cornelia said. "We know nothing about Sylla."

"What if he's a monster from Meridian?" Hay Lin said. Will just shook her head.

"We've done that enough, thank you." Will said.

"Well, what do we do now?" Taranee said.

"I'm not sure we can do anything." Will said. "I think he has to make the next move."

"Oh, that's just another way of saying you don't have a plan." Hay Lin said.

"I didn't say I didn't have a plan." Will said with a smile.

As it turned out, the girls didn't have to wait long for Sylla to make his move. The next morning, Sylla waved Will down in the hallway.

"What is it Mr. Sylla?" Will said, trying to sound innocent.

"I'm afraid it's bad news." Sylla said "And it involves the assignment you did two days ago. I'm afraid we caught you."

"Caught me? Doing what?" Will asked.

"Cheating." Sylla said. "You and your friend Taranee both handed in remarkably similar assingments."

"But Taranee's in a different class." Will said with a frown.

"That's why I want both of you to come to my classroom after school so I can talk to you about this. Cheating is a very serious offence." Mr. Sylla said.

"Yes, Mr. Sylla."

Will frowned as Sylla walked down the hallway. They both knew that she hadn't cheated; this was obviously a grab for the heart. Well, he wasn't the only one who could be tricky. She smiled a little. This was going to be a very interesting afternoon.


	13. After School Special

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 13

After School Special

Meridian

Caleb hit the ground. The leaping animal sailed over his head and right into Vathek's fist. It crumbled to the ground.

"Thanks, old friend." Caleb said.

"Anytime." Vathek replied.

Chaos didn't quite describe it. The creatures had attacked Meridian's market square without warning, and this time they were faster, stronger, and there were more of them. Between the running people, the shouts of panic, and the quick strikes of the creatures, they were all having a hard time getting their bearings. Caleb had no problem finding his next target, though. Right in front of him, staring him down was a City Creature as big as a house. Caleb was searching for a weakness in vain when an arrow came out of nowhere and pierced the creatures' neck. Caleb looked for the source and found Walli loading another shot.

"Thanks for the assist." Caleb said.

"No sign of them in three days, then their biggest attack yet. Why?" Walli said.

"I don't know." replied Caleb with a shrug, "They're just animals, it's not like they planned it."

"No, I think I know where Walli is going with this." Aldarn said, coming over to join them, "Animals would just keep attacking until they either won or died. This is much to organized."

"I have to admit, if I was planning an attack, this is how I would do it. We have to worry about the citizens just as much as ourselves." Caleb said.

"Then the question remains." Walli said, "Whose controlling them, and why?"

None of them had an answer for this. Caleb still wasn't convinced there was someone behind this. Why go to all this trouble? What could they have to gain?

"Caleb, perhaps you should call the Guardians." Aldarn said, defending himself from another attack.

"Can't." Caleb said. "I talked to Cornelia yesterday. They're busy."

"Unfortunate." Walli said.

"Yeah." Aldarn added, "Guess we're lucky you put together your team when you did.

"Yeah." Caleb said quietly "Lucky"

Heatherfield

Will and Taranee sat in two uncomfortable chairs while Mr. Sylla paced in front of them.

"_You know what to do, right?" _Will telepathically asked her friend.

"_Yes, Will."_ Taranee thought back. _"We've done tougher stuff then this." _

"You both know why you're here, don't you." Mr. Sylla said to them.

"Yes, Mr. Sylla." both the girls answered.

"Cheating is a serious offence, one that we at Sheffield do not take lightly..." Mr. Sylla said.

Taranee didn't want to be there. As she looked out the window, she realized that she wanted to be anywhere but in that classroom. She had told Nigel about the Guardians three days ago, and hadn't heard anything since. She wanted for things to just go back to normal, but there was no normal anymore. Every month, it was the same thing. Someone is attacking Meridian, or a giant lizard was trying to take over the Earth. Okay, so as far as she knew no one was attacking Meridian now, but then they find out even their teachers are evil! In that moment of weakness, she didn't want to be a Guardian anymore. She didn't want to fight anymore. She just wanted to go to the movies with her boyfriend, but now she couldn't. She shook her head and cursed herself mentally. What was she doing? Being a Guardian was something that needed to be done. Protecting the universe was more important then her personal problems. She needed to just focus on the task at hand. Still…

"I believe some old-fashioned punishment is in order." Mr. Sylla said, finishing his lectures on the evils of cheating, "Take out a pen and a piece of paper. You're going to write lines."

Will and Taranee looked at each other.

"Lines? Really?"

"Yes." Mr. Sylla said, glaring at the girls. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No sir." Taranee said.

She shrugged and unzipped her bag. This was going to be easier then she thought. As she got out her binder, she 'accidently' spilled the contents of her knapsack on the floor. Among the wreckage was the Heart of Kandrakar. She muttered a "sorry" and shoveled it back in her bag.

Sylla's eyes widened when he saw the Heart. So Taranee had it! Just as his boss had predicted. He smiled. Looked like everything was going just as they planned.

Meridian

Vathek took in a deep breath. It hadn't been easy, but most of the creatures had been defeated. He looked around and discovered that not all of them had gone down. In front of him was a City Creature, a large one. And in front of it were two children, no more then ten, standing with their backs against a wall. He leapt between the creature and the children and spun his mace. The creature did not back down. Vathek knew he was too exhausted to win a long battle; he had to end this quickly. He waited until the creature attacked him and, using the creatures' momentum, threw it over his shoulder and into the wall behind him. Vathek looked at where he had thrown it and his heart sank. The children hadn't moved! They were still standing by the wall. He had no time to reach them, so he covered his eyes from the dust. He ran towards the rubble. He knew there was no hope that the children had been able to survive the wall falling on them, yet still he desperately threw rocks off of the pile. When he reached the bottom, he saw an incredible sight. There in front of him was a beaten and battered Raythor, arms outstretched. He had used his body to shield the children. Raythor fell to one knee.

"Are you alright?" Raythor asked the children. They just nodded.

"Good. Now run off to your parents."

The children complied and ran into the arms of their parents. Raythor staggered to his feet. He winced and grabbed his side as he did so.

"Raythor, are you alright?" Vathek asked.

"Couple of ribs gone for sure." Raythor said. "Bet that damn doctor's still in the castle."

"Raythor," Vathek said, "I know there's been some bad blood between us, but that was one of the bravest things I've ever seen. You have earned my respect."

"Save it." Raythor said, heading towards the castle. "I didn't do that for you and I certainty didn't do it for your respect. Your respect doesn't mean a thing to me. I did what I did because it's my job to protect Meridian, her Queen and its people. And that's what I'm here to do. The only reason I'm going along with this whole team business is because it helps me to do that. I'm here to work, not to make friends."

And with that he disappeared behind a building, leaving Vathek to stand alone in the village square, in front of a broken wall.


	14. All Good Things

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 14

All Good Things

Heatherfield

Taranee Cook walked through the park, her hands in her pocket and the latest BoyZilla song playing through her headphones. Her spending most of the day outside was all part of Will's plan. Normally, Taranee wouldn't have minded. After all, this was the warmest day in months, and she liked the way the park looked near the end of winter. But she couldn't shake the feeling that this wasn't where she should be. Spending the day walking through the park just felt like a waste of time. Not only that, but Will wanted her to do it tomorrow, and possibly the next day too. Some way to spend a weekend. She should be doing something more productive. Maybe it was time she did…

Raphael Sylla walked through the park, trying to look casual. He had followed subjects tougher then Taranee before. This should just be an easy mission, a 'walk in the park', so to speak. But if there was one thing he had learned from the last couple of weeks, there were no easy missions. Not when it came to these girls. Still, its not like she knew he was following her. And he was certain no one was following him, not unless they were invisible. But that was impossible.

Hay Lin invisibly walked through the park. Her head was swimming. Her job was to follow Sylla, who was following Taranee. That meant she had to keep an eye on Taranee, who was at the south end of the park, and Sylla, who was at the north end of the park. Not only that, but because she was invisible, she had to dodge couples and dog walkers who didn't know she was there.

"_Hay Lin! Can you hear me?"_ It was Taranee, speaking to her telepathically.

"_Yeah, I can hear you." _Hay Lin thought back, _"What is it?"_

"_I need you to not follow me for an hour tomorrow." _Taranee thought.

"_Are you sure?"_ Hay Lin thought, narrowly avoiding an old lady, _"Will wanted me to keep my eyes on you all weekend."_

"_I don't care." _Taranee thought back, _"I need you off my back tomorrow. Just for an hour."_

"_Should I ask her why?" _Hay Lin thought to herself.

"_No, you shouldn't" _Taranee thought to Hay Lin.

"_Oops. Sorry." _Hay Lin forgot that Taranee could hear all of her thoughts. _"All right. If it's that important."_

"_Thanks Hay Lin."_

Hay Lin was pretty sure she knew what Taranee wanted to do. She was going to confront Nigel. Hay Lin thought about her own boyfriend, Eric Lyndon. She had to admit, she was thinking of telling him about the Guardians as well, but that was before everything went wrong between Taranee and Nigel. Now she wasn't sure she wanted to risk it. She snapped out of her thoughts and realized that she had no idea where Sylla or Taranee were. She sidestepped an elderly couple and went back on the hunt.

Meridian

Caleb was walking down a hallway when a fold appeared in front of him. He instinctively went for his sword, but put it away when he saw who was coming through.

"Cornelia? What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see you, handsome." Cornelia said as the fold closed behind her. She walked up to Caleb and gave him a hug and a kiss.

"Really?" Caleb asked.

"Yes." Cornelia said, crossing her arms. "Is that so strange?"

"Well, to be honest, yes. Are you sure Heatherfield isn't under attack?" Caleb said.

"Yes, I'm sure." Cornelia said. "I've come to see you. I… miss you. I hardly ever get to see you outside of battle."

Caleb looked at her as they started to walk down the hallway. Although he didn't know about Taranee and Nigel, he could tell she was troubled.

"Cornelia, are you sure you're okay with me staying on Meridian? I know last time…"

Cornelia took a deep breath.

"No Caleb, I'm not okay with it. I hate not being able to see you, and I hate not knowing whether or not you're safe. But I know it's something you have to do, and it's something you need to do. So even though it sucks, even though it hurts, I can deal with it. Because I love you. And at the end of the day, that's all that really matters."

Caleb wanted nothing more then to hold her and kiss her at that moment, but a voice from behind stopped him.

"Cornelia! Caleb, did you tell her, did you tell her!" It was Elyon, running towards them.

"Hey Elyon!" Cornelia said. "Tell me what?"

"I have a new boyfriend!" Elyon said.

"That's great Ellie!" Cornelia said, giving her friend a hug. "Anyone I know?"

"His name's Dee!" Elyon said, "He's a doctor, he's really cute, and we found him in the Infinite City!"

The last remark caused Cornelia to raise an eyebrow.

"Come on, I'll tell you all about it." Elyon said with a laugh.

The two girls left, leaving Caleb alone once again. He smiled. He remembered what it was like when he first met Cornelia. He was glad Elyon was feeling the same thing. And if anyone deserved it, it was Elyon. He smiled again; after all, this is what he fought for.

Heatherfield

The next day, Taranee walked towards the underpass. She tried not to look nervous; she tried not to look scared. Instead, she tried to look determined and strong. She knew she wasn't pulling it off. Surly Nigel had to see the fear in her face. She became even more scared when she saw Nigel. He seemed to be hiding his emotions well. Taranee looked in vain for any signs of a decision in his face.

"It's been almost a week since we last talked." Taranee said. "Have you figured out anything?"

"Yes, I have." Nigel said. Taranee knew exactly what was coming next. Nigel didn't need to say anything else, but he did anyways.

"Here's what it comes down to. I'm so proud of you and what you've done, and I'm amazed at how strong you are, but that's just it. I'm not. I spent the entire week worrying about you and what you were doing. I couldn't take it. If I'm your boyfriend, it's going to drive me insane. I just can't take it." He reached over and held her hand. "I still care for you, but I can't be the person you need me to be. I hope you do find that person, because you deserve him. But it's not me. I'm just not strong enough. I'm sorry."

Neither of them said anything for a while. They both just sat there in silence.

"Is that how you feel? I mean, are you sure?" Taranee said, holding back tears.

"Yes." Nigel said.

"Then… I guess we're done."

She stood up. She promised herself she wouldn't cry in front of him, and somehow managed to keep a calm face. She gave him a hug, and a soft kiss on the cheek. Then she turned around, walked away from him, and as soon as he was out of sight, burst into tears.


	15. Planning in Motion

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 15

Planning in Motion

Heatherfield

Taranee walked home from school, once more with heavy thoughts. Her mind was buzzing. There was so much to think about, and so little time to figure it all out. She took a deep breath and tried to focus on what she had to do now. She took a quick look over her shoulder. She couldn't see him, but she knew he was there. Quickly, she stepped into a dark, empty alley. She waited there patiently for about thirty seconds. Then Raphael Sylla appeared. He took out a knife and walked towards Taranee.

"I think we both know what I want Taranee." He said. "Just give me the jewel and you won't get hurt."

Taranee didn't say anything, she just smiled. Sylla realized that something was wrong. He spun around and saw Will and Cornelia enter the alley behind him. He looked back at Taranee just in time to see Irma and Hay Lin step out of the shadows behind her. Realizing he was surrounded, he gave a smile, but it did not have the same confidence that Taranee's had.

"I'm impressed girls." he said. "I don't know how you found out about me, but it won't do you any good. I will still get what I want. You're unarmed and I'm a professional. I don't want to hurt you, but I will."

"I wouldn't worry about that." Taranee said.

"See that parking lot?" Irma said, pointing behind Sylla. "My dad's a cop. Everyday, at exactly 4:00, my dad parks his car there. It's part of his patrol route. It's now 3:59. So when my dad shows up in a minute, he's going to see one of two things. Either he'll see a strange man attacking and robbing his daughter and her friends, or he'll see five girls who happened to run into their teacher on the street. What's it going to be?"

Exactly one minute later, Tom Lair pulled his Police car into the parking lot.

"Hi dad!"

He turned and looked out his window to see Irma and her friends waving hello to him.

"Hi sweetie." He said as Irma walked towards him. "Who's that you're with."

"Oh, him? He's our computer teacher. We just ran into him on the street."

"That's nice. Listen, I'll be a little late coming home today, but I left a casserole in the fridge for you and mom.

"Ok, dad." Irma said, turning back to her friends. "Be safe."

"You too." Tom said with a smile. Those girls must really like their teacher, he thought to himself. They wouldn't even let him leave. He wished he had liked his teachers that much.

"Now what?" Sylla said, as Irma rejoined the group.

"We're not done with you." Taranee said. "Hay Lin captured that whole thing on her cell phone. So unless you want Irma's dad seeing you pull a knife on me, you're going to do two things."

Sylla didn't say anything, he just glared at Taranee.

"First," Taranee continued, "you leave Sheffield, and don't come back."

"Deal." Sylla said. His cover was blown anyways. "Next?"

"Next," Taranee said, "You tell us who you really are and what you want with the Hea… with the jewel."

Sylla looked for an escape, but found none.

"I'm a private investigator." He said. "I was hired to steal the jewel from you."

"Why?" Hay Lin asked.

"Don't play dumb." Sylla said. "We all know how much that jewel is worth. You could sell that on the black market and never work a day in your life."

Taranee laughed.

"What? You think this thing is valuable?" she said, taking the Heart out of her bag.

"Of course." Sylla said.

Taranee laughed again. Then she held the Heart at arms length and dropped it. When it hit the ground, it shattered into a million pieces.

"What?" Sylla said quietly. "But he said it was worth millions."

"He was mistaken." Taranee said. "It's just made of glass."

"Who told you it was valuable?" Will said. "Who are you working for?"

"I'm not sure." Sylla said. "I don't know his name, I only know he's a jewel collector and he pays well."

The girls looked at him skeptically.

"Hey, I have no reason to cover for him. He lied to me. I hope you do catch him, but that's all I know."

"All right." Taranee said, "Then here's how this is going to work. We're not going to delete this video, but no one else is going to see it. Unless we see you, ever again. Leave Heatherfield, never come back. Because if we see you again, it will be behind bars"

"How do I know you won't tell the cops anyways?" Sylla asked.

Taranee smiled.

"You don't."

With that, Sylla quickly walked down the street, and away from the girls.

"You just let him go?" Will asked as Sylla walked out of view.

"I guess I've just seen enough pain this week." Taranee said. "I didn't want to give out any more. Let's just go home."

The girls went their separate ways. Hay Lin walked beside Irma.

"That sure was a good plan by Will." Hay Lin said.

"Yeah." Irma said without enthusiasm.

"I liked the look on Sylla's face when Taranee shattered the fake Heart. I forgot about that one we made for the dragon play. Remember, during that whole Torus Filney business?"

"Sure."

"Who do you think the mysterious jewel thief is?"

"I dunno."

Hay Lin looked over at her friend. The normally cheerful Irma walked with her head down.

"Are you alright Irma?"

"I'm pathetic Hay Lin." Irma said. "Look at me. The closest thing I've had to a boyfriend is Martin. Now it turns out the guy I like is evil!"

"You weren't serious about Sylla, were you? He was our teacher." Hay Lin asked.

"No, but that's just it. I joke and laugh about guys like Sylla, but there's not really anybody out there for me. I've never even come close to having a serious relationship." She sighed. "I guess I shouldn't complain, not after what Taranee went through, but at least she had a boyfriend. You have Eric, Will and Cornelia have Matt and Caleb, and who do I have? No one."

"Somebody will come along." Hay Lin said. "You just have to be patient."

"I guess you're right, Hay Lin." Irma smiled, but it wasn't a strong one. The two friends continued to walk down the snowy streets in silence.

A couple blocks away from Irma and Hay Lin, Raphael Sylla entered a dark building, as he had done many times before. He entered an elevator, and pressed the button for the top floor. A minute later, he exited the elevator and entered a cold, dark room. He faced a familiar desk, with a familiar old man sitting behind it.

"Well?" The man said.

Sylla smiled.

"Exactly as you planned." He said. "They set a trap and fell right into ours."

"Then they think that you are finished?" the man asked.

"Yes. They think they've outsmarted me. They even told me to leave Heatherfield and never come back."

"Excellent. Although perhaps you should follow their advice." the man said. He then slid an envelope across the desk.

"You've done good work. Here is your last check. Thank you, and good bye."

Sylla took the envelope, opened it, and made sure all the zeros were there. He mumbled a thank you, and then headed for the door. He took one last look towards the room, and the man behind the desk. Then he entered the elevator, and pressed the down button.

The man stood up once Sylla had left. He had to admit, Sylla played his part perfectly. The girls were relaxed, which made them more vulnerable then ever. They thought that they had won, and that the game was over. But, he thought, the game was just getting started. And the gears continued to turn.


	16. Cold Front

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 16

Cold Front

Meridian

As Elyon fell asleep, she felt happier then she had in a long time. Everything was finally as it should be. Meridian was well on its way to rebuilding itself. Yes, those City Creatures were annoying, but Caleb was dealing with them well. And at least they made things interesting. But most importantly, she was in love. Even though she had only known Dee for about a week, she had never felt this way before. He was perfect in every way. As she closed her eyes, she smiled, feeling completely content.

She awoke to darkness. Complete, utter and absolute darkness. Not only did it fill her room, but it also filled the depths of her mind. It was as if all the joy in the world was lost forever, and every happy thought had been erased. She staggered out of her bed, desperately fighting the tides of despair. She regained her composure, and headed towards the window. She saw very little in the village, the blackness was too great. She flew out of her window, looked up, and saw a sight normally reserved for her nightmares. It was a storm. But not just any storm. It consisted of black, swirling clouds, with a pinkish, glowing center. Although she had not seen it many times herself, she instantly recognized it. It was the storm that constantly appeared above the castle when Phobos ruled. Except this one was bigger, stronger, and more dangerous. Elyon felt a tingle run down her spine. Phobos. Could it be?

"Elyon!"

Elyon flew to the ground at the sound of her name. She quickly located Caleb, Walli and Aldarn.

"Caleb!" Elyon said. "Is it…?"

Caleb shook his head.

"Phobos is still in his cell." He said. "We even knocked him out, just to be sure. No, this is something new. Look Out!"

Elyon hit the ground as a City Creature soared over her head. Walli spun and fired an arrow into the creatures back.

"They're here too?" Elyon said, picking herself off the dirt.

"Yes." Walli said. "We believe that they are somehow connected with the storm."

"But how?" Elyon asked as she blasted a creature. "They don't have the power to do this."

"It looks like Walli was right." Aldarn said. "Someone is behind these attacks. And it looks like they were just warming up."

"Caleb, we need the guardians." Elyon said.

Caleb paused for a moment.

"You're right." He said. "Fold to Earth, Eylon. Go get them. We'll handle things here."

Elyon nodded, and stepped through a portal to Earth.

Heatherfield

"Cornelia! One of your friends is at the door!"

"Ok, mom! I'm coming!"

Cornelia put down her pencil, happy for the break from her homework. She rushed to the door.

"Eylon? What are you doing here?" She asked.

"We need the Guardians. Badly." Elyon replied.

"Have you got Will?" Cornelia asked.

Elyon shook her head.

"She wasn't home. Can you call her? I have to get back to Meridian."

"Of course." Cornelia said as she took out her phone, "Don't worry, we'll be there."

Meridian

"Well?" Walli asked as Elyon stepped through the fold.

"I couldn't find Will, but Cornelia says they'll be here." Elyon replied.

"They better hurry." Aldarn said. "The storm is worsening, and these creatures just keep coming and coming."

"Elyon, is there anything you can do about the storm?" Caleb asked.

Elyon looked up at the swirling clouds.

"I don't think so. Perhaps if I had caught it right away, but its too powerful now. With the Guardians help, sure, but without them, it would take all my power and then some."

"Too dangerous." Caleb said.

"Well then, we better hope the Guardians arrive soon."

Heatherfield

Cornelia once again typed Will's number into her cellphone and put it to her ear. Again, nothing. She frowned.

"_Taranee, have you found her?" _She telepathically asked her friend.

"_Nope." _Taranee said, _"Hay Lin and Irma haven't seen her either."_

"_What about Matt?"_ Cornelia asked.

"_Nothing. And he's worried."_

"_It's Meridian we should be worried about." _Cornelia said. _"If we can't find Will, they're on their own."_

Meridian

Elyon could feel the familiar sense of panic gripping her heart. It had been over an hour since she went to Heatherfield, and still there was no sign of the Guardians. Where could they be? The storm was already twice its original size, and the Honor Guard was being worn out trying to fight these creatures. She looked around. Something had to be done. Meridian was in danger, and there were no Guardians. It was up to them. She looked up at the looming storm. It was up to her. She flew away from the battle, and headed towards the medical tents. She quickly found Dee. He was sitting in a corner, holding his head, an expression of pain on his face.

"Dee, are you okay?" Elyon asked as she landed next to him.

"Yes, Elyon." Dee said, "Its just this storm. All this pain... Shouldn't you be at the battle?"

"No." Elyon said. "I have to do something more."

She leaned in, and kissed him softly on the lips.

"Whatever happens," she said, "thank you."

Then she turned, and flew directly into the eye of the storm.

Heatherfield

1 hour earlier

Will walked down the street, trying to shield her face from the wind. She thought about the events of yesterday. Who was this jewel thief? How did he know about the Heart? And if he knew that much about it, how could they so easily fool him into thinking Taranee had it? Something still didn't make sense. Her thoughts were interrupted by a ringing noise. She recognized it as her ring tone for Cornelia. Before she could answer it though, two strong arms wrapped a damp cloth around her mouth. She flailed madly as she was dragged away from the street. Will could feel herself slowly losing consciousness from whatever was on the cloth. She panicked and reached for the Heart in her bag. Her eyes widened as she saw an old man dangle the Heart in front of her, just out of reach. As she saw the man smile, her strength faded, her phone rang, and she was pulled into the darkness.


	17. Cause and Effect

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 17

Cause and Effect

Meridian

Elyon flew ever higher towards the storm. The windows and towers of the castle blurred together, as did the thoughts in her mind. She realized that this had never happened before. Yes, she had been in danger, but it had never been up to her to stop it. She had always relied on the Guardians or Caleb to make everything right. But the Guardians weren't here, and Caleb was powerless in the face of this new threat. Many emotions ran through her mind. There was, of course, fear, panic, and anxiety. Those were to be expected. Less then an hour ago, she had 'scanned' the storm, and didn't think she had the power to stop it. It was even stronger now, even more dangerous. What made her think she could stop it now? But there was one more emotion, one that showed up more often then the others. Determination. She would not let her people down. She would not let them be hurt. She would give Meridian a Queen they could be proud of. What made her think she could stop the storm now, even though she hadn't before? Because now, she had no other choice. Even if it cost her life, she would save her city.

Elyon entered the heart of the storm. Energy crackled all around her. For some reason she felt calmer now then she had before. She brought her arms close to her body, and summoned up all of her power. As the power filled her, she said a soft prayer.

"Mother, help me save our world."

Then she opened her arms, and realized the full extent of her birthright. Energy radiated from her body. She shone like a star surrounded by the dark clouds. Her energy pushed against them, and the clouds pushed back as if they were alive. She could feel the strain of the battle throughout her body, but she refused to give in. She pushed outwards and once again her light slammed against the wall of clouds. This time, however, her energy forced its way through the clouds. Slowly at first, but then faster and faster. It was working! She could win! But she was already so weak, and there was still so much to do. Her mind threatened to buckle but she kept fighting. She thought of the Browns, and all they had done for her. She thought of Caleb and the Guardians and how they never gave up. Most importantly, she thought about Dee, and how happy he made her. She didn't want to give that up. She pushed one last time against the darkness. Although it seemed to her like an eternity, the clouds slowly parted and left, until all that remained in the sky was Elyon, framed against the clear, morning sun. She looked down on her city and smiled. Then she went limp, and her unconscious body fell from the sky.

Heatherfield

Will slowly opened her eyes, and didn't like what she saw. She was in a room she had never seen before. Surrounding her were humming machines, flashing lights, and hundreds of turning gears. One of the machines on the left hand wall held the Heart of Kandrakar is a glass tube. The Heart pulsed and throbbed violently. However, none of this was what concerned her most. What did make her worry was the old man standing in front of her. Will could feel the suffering and desperation radiating off of him. She could also feel a sense of strength and determination.

"Hmmm" the man said. "Awake already?"

Will did a quick mental check of herself. She didn't seem to be harmed physically, although she couldn't move anything but her head. Her arms and legs were strapped to the wall so that she was at eye level with the man.

"Who are you?" Will asked, "What do you want? How do you know about the Heart?"

"Powerless, defenseless and immobile, yet you still ask questions." the man said, "Once again, I am impressed Will Vandom."

Will said nothing.

"Very well." the man said. "I will answer the first one out of common courtesy, and the last two because you do need to know why I do this. Firstly, my name is Dr. Theodore Riddle. And this is my story."

Riddle picked up a remote and pressed a button on it. A large T.V. screen lowered from the celling behind him. He pressed another button and the fuzzy, black and white image of a security video appeared on the screen. It showed a mother and her young daughter walking through a park.

"This image is from five years ago," Riddle said. "In a town called Fadden Hills, just north of Heatherfield."

Will knew Fadden Hills well, its where she had grown up, but she decided not to tell Riddle this.

"The woman was, excuse me, is my wife, Katherine. And the girl is my daughter Megan. She was four at the time."

Riddle pressed another button, and the image on the screen came to life. Riddle and Will watched in silence as the happy mother and daughter walked through the trees. Suddenly, just in front of them, a swirling circle of energy appeared on the path. Will instantly recognized it as a portal, although she hadn't seen one like it since the veil had been lifted. The mother was shocked by the portal's sudden appearance, and lost her grip on her daughters' hand. The child, not knowing better, walked towards the portal, probably interested in its bright blue color. As she neared it, she tripped over an exposed tree root and tumbled through the portal. The mother instantly ran through the portal herself to retrieve her daughter. However, only seconds after she passed through it, the portal closed behind her, leaving nothing more on the screen then the empty park.

"They were never seen again." Riddle said quietly. "The police saw the tape and thought they were attacked. They thought the portal was a clever trick, used by the attackers so they wouldn't be identified. They saw it as a means of hiding. I saw it as something else. I saw the thing that not only tore apart my life, but also the thing that I would use to rebuild that life."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Will said, "But those portals are random. You have no idea where they ended up."

"You think I don't know that?" Riddle shouted at her. "Before that accident, I was a brilliant, wealthy, happy businessman. A lot changed that day, but not everything. I'm still brilliant, and I'm still wealthy. I dedicated my time and money to finding out everything I could about magic. Within a couple years I figured out about Meridian, and Phobos, and more importantly, the Guardians. Recently, I discover a way to create portals, or as you now call them, folds, in between Earth and Meridian. Although it wasn't easy, I also figured out a way to control where they go. That means that using energy readings from the one that took my family, I would be able to reproduce that exact portal! I could figure out where it took my family!

"What does that have to do with me?" Will asked.

Riddle frowned at her.

"Because, making portals requires a great deal of energy." he said. "I have nowhere near enough power to make one that I can control to the degree I need to. But the Heart does. It will require all of its power, but it can do it."

"Wait a minute." Will said, "You're going to drain the Heart? What about all the people who rely on it? Without the Heart, there are no Guardians. What happens the next time someone like Phobos attacks Earth?"

Riddle shrugged.

"I have no idea." he said. "And frankly, I don't really care. I have no attachment to this world. All I want is my family."

"I'm sorry." Will said. "But I can't let you do this."

"Of course not." Riddle said. "That's why you're strapped to the wall. And I believe you've talked enough for one day."

Riddle walked over and pressed a button on the wall beside Will. Will felt something prick the back of her neck, and for the second time today, felt the strength leave her body. Riddle frowned at the glowing Heart, then left the room, leaving only Will and the machines. And the gears continued to turn.


	18. Heartless

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 18

Heartless

Meridian

Caleb had never run so fast in his life. Everything just felt numb. He had watched helplessly as his Queen had amazingly stopped the storm that was threatening Meridian, and then continued to watch as she fell to the ground. Was she…? She had done so much, and fallen so far. Could she be? He didn't even want to think it. He slid beside her. Dee was already there, holding her hand. Walli, Julian and Vathek also surrounded her, a look of concern on their face.

"Dee, is she…?" Caleb said softly.

"She's alive." Dee said. "And unconscious. That's all I can say right now."

"Not good enough." Caleb said. "You're a doctor! How is she?"

Caleb was getting visibly upset. Dee calmly looked him in the eyes.

"Caleb, I've only known Elyon for little over a week, and she already means more to me then anyone ever has. I can't even imagine what you're going through. But right now, I'm on a battlefield, with no equipment, dealing with something no one has ever dealt with before. I need to analyze her condition, stabilize her, and then carefully move her into the medical room in the castle. And I can do that a lot better without you yelling at me. You're a soldier, I'm a doctor. You've done your job, now let me do mine."

Caleb took a step back. He realized Dee was right. Even though he hated it, there was nothing he could do for Elyon right now. He looked around. The entire Honor guard was now there and waiting for orders from him.

"The Creatures. What happened to them?"

"They all disappeared once the storm left." Julian said.

"Drake, Tynar, Vathek. Do a complete sweep of the city." Caleb said. "Make sure they're all gone, and help anyone who needs it. Father, Raythor. Stay with Elyon. Make sure she's safe, and help Dee in anyway you can. Walli, you're with me."

"Where are we going?" Walli asked.

"Earth."

Heatherfield

The atmosphere in the Silver Dragon's basement was as dark as it had ever been. Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, Hay Lin, Yan Lin, Caleb and Walli all sat in the dark room, not saying anything. They were all looking at the one empty chair in the corner of the room. The one normally filled by Will.

"When did you last see her?" Caleb asked.

"When we left school today, just four hours ago." Hay Lin said.

"It was only four hours ago?" Walli asked. "Then isn't it possible that she's not really in danger? Maybe she just went somewhere and didn't tell you."

"I'm sorry, but who are you exactly?" Irma asked Walli.

"My name is Walli, from the village of Avalon." Walli answered. "I have assisted Caleb and the Honor Guard in dealing with the recent attacks."

"What attacks?" Taranee asked.

Caleb filled the girls in on the events happening on Meridian, everything from finding Dee, to the City Creatures, to the storm and eventually Elyon being in critical condition. It was the first time any of the girls had heard any of this.

"Is Elyon going to be okay?" Cornelia asked.

Caleb didn't say anything.

"We're doing everything we can." Walli said.

"I'm sorry for Meridian." Taranee said, "And I hope Elyon recovers, but our main concern right now should be finding Will. Without her, we can't help anybody."

"What are we going to tell her parents if she doesn't come home tonight?" Hay Lin asked.

"A sleepover?" Irma said, "That always worked in the past."

"Will's mom isn't going to be happy that Will didn't tell her about it." Cornelia said.

"Still, it's the best plan we have right now." Yan Lin said. "I'll go call Will's mom."

"Girls," Caleb said as Yan Lin left, "You know you'll always have my support, but right now my first priority is Meridian's safety."

"Of course Caleb." Cornelia said. "We understand. Go make sure Elyon gets better."

Cornelia gave him a hug.

"Let us know if you find out anything." Walli said. "We'll do anything we can to help once we know Meridian is safe."

"Thanks Walli, we will." Irma replied.

Walli gave her a smile, and Caleb used the Tonga tooth to open a fold back to the castle.

"Where could Will be?" Irma asked, staring out the small basement window.

"I don't know." Taranee said. "This has never happened before. What if she's…?"

"No." Cornelia said. "Don't even think about that. She's going to be fine."

Nobody said anything for a while. They were all thinking the same thing Taranee was. What if she wasn't okay? They had no idea of knowing. What if their luck had run out, and Will was seriously injured. What would they do then? What would they tell her mom?

"Where is she? Have you heard anything? Is she alright?"

Matt Olsen burst through the doors leading to the basement. None of the girls had ever seen him so angry.

"We don't know, Matt." Irma said, putting a hand on his arm, "We're doing everything we can."

"But there's not much we can do." Hay Lin said. "We don't even know where to start looking."

"Then we look everywhere." Matt said. "And we don't stop looking until we find her, and the person who did this."

"Agreed." Cornelia said. "We're not doing anything just sitting here. Let's get some rest. Tomorrow, we'll do a complete search of the city. Find out if anyone's seen her."

"Not good enough." Matt said. "I'm looking now."

"Matt, stop!" Cornelia said, "What are you going to do if you find the person who did this? How far are you willing to go?"

Matt didn't say anything. He just walked out of the basement and transformed into his Shagon form in a dark alley. Then he took off into the night sky, in search of Will.

Meridian

Dee stood beside the bed where Elyon laid. It had been three hours since Elyon had fallen, and Dee hadn't left her side. Her condition didn't seem like it was getting any better, but it was so hard to tell. Dee frowned. She had to get better.

"Hi Dee."

Dee jumped. It was Elyon! She was awake! A huge smile swept across Dee face.

"Hi Elyon." he said, "how do you feel?"

"Exhausted." Elyon said weakly, "Did it work?"

"It worked." Dee said. "You saved everyone! I've never seen anything as amazing as what you just did."

"I couldn't have done it without you." Elyon said. "It was thinking of you that gave me my strength."

"Elyon," Dee said, squeezing her hand, "This past week has been the best of my life. I've never felt this way about anyone before. You're so brave, so strong, and so beautiful. I love you Elyon."

"Dee," Elyon said with a smile. "You've made me happier then I ever thought possible. Everything you do, your smile, the way you make me laugh, I've never felt this way before either. You are the only person I've ever truly loved. You are the only person my heart truly belongs to."

"Really, Elyon?" Dee said with a smile. "You would do that for me? You would give me your heart?"

"Yes." Elyon said. "Dee, I give you my heart."

Dee smiled. He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.

"Although," he said, standing up, "there is one thing I should tell you. You know how everyone thinks the Creatures that have attacked us were prisoners of the Infinite City? Well, that's only half right. The City is a prison, but the Creatures weren't the prisoners. I was."

As he said this, a golden glow appeared around Elyon. Slowly, it moved from Elyon, towards Dee, until eventually, Dee glowed with the stolen power. Elyon could only lie there helplessly as she realized that she had been tricked.

"Which is something I bet you would have liked to have known before you gave me your Heart, and everything that comes with it."

It was the last thing Elyon heard before the last of her power left her, and she slipped into unconsciousness.


	19. First Blood

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 19

First Blood

Meridian

"Caleb! Please come to the medical room!" Miriadel said.

The glow from the ring on Caleb's finger faded as he sprinted down the hallways. Miriadel's voice was filled with concern and fear. What had happened now? Caleb wondered as he ran. He entered Elyon's room and saw both of Elyon's adopted parents sitting next to their daughter. To his surprise, Elyon was awake. Her eyes widened as when she saw him.

"She's been trying to say something, but we don't know what it is." Alborn said.

Caleb knelt beside his Queen.

"What is it Elyon?" he said.

Elyon opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

"She's on the edge of exhaustion." Miriadel's said. "I'm amazed she's awake, let alone talking."

As Elyon continued to struggle, Caleb's ring glowed yet again.

"Caleb," his father said through the ring, "the storm is back. Reports say that someone is on the roof. We need to check it out."

Caleb closed his eyes. He wasn't sure he could do it. For a brief second, he lost all hope. They had been though so much in the last few years. They had barely survived the last storm, now they had to do it without Elyon or the Guardians.

"I'll be there." he said into the ring.

"The storm's back?" Alborn asked.

Caleb nodded. "And whoever's on the roof is probably the one who's behind all this."

"Who could it be?" Miriadel wondered aloud.

When she heard this, Elyon tugged at Caleb's arm, and struggled even harder to speak.

"Elyon," Caleb said, turning to his Queen, "do you know who it is?"

Elyon nodded weakly.

"She's fading." Alborn said.

Elyon took one more deep breath, and with the last of her strength, uttered one name.

"Dee."

Nobody said anything for a while. They just sat in silence as Elyon once more fell asleep.

"I have to go." Caleb said grimly.

Then he stood up, and headed for the roof.

Heatherfield

Four of the five girls once again sat in the basement of the Silver Dragon. They had spent the last day and a half searching every inch of the city for any sign of Will. So far, they had found nothing.

"Has anyone talked to Will's mom?" Cornelia asked.

"She keeps calling the restaurant." Hay Lin said. "She sounds terrified."

"Apparently she called my dad too." Irma said. "He asked me if I knew anything about it."

"What did you say?"

"The truth." Irma said with a shrug. "We haven't seen her since school yesterday."

"Well, that's nothing compared to Matt." Taranee said. "He's ready to destroy the city to find her."

"Where is he anyways?" Irma asked.

"He's still flying around the city. He wasn't even in school today."

"Poor guy." Hay Lin said. "I just feel so helpless."

Suddenly, a flash of light lit up the dark basement. It was so sudden and so bright that it knocked the girls right off their chairs. When they recovered, they saw the head of the Oracle floating in front of them.

"Guardians." He said, "I don't have much time, so listen carefully."

"We're listening." Taranee said.

"About time you showed up." Irma added.

Cornelia took a closer look at the glowing head. The last time they had seen the Oracle, he had just forcibly returned them to Earth after the Zamballa affair. He hadn't looked very good then, and he looked even worse now. It looked as if he had aged about 15 years in the last week. He also looked nervous, something Cornelia had never seen in Kandrakar's leader.

"It's about Will." the Oracle said. "I know where she is."

Cornelia snapped to attention when she heard this.

"Where is she?" Hay Lin asked.

"In a building called The Institute, in Heatherfield. I'm sorry, that's I can say right now."

"Wait!" Irma shouted, but it was too late, the Oracle had already disappeared.

Taranee pulled her laptop and began to find information on 'The Institute'.

"What's going on in Kandrakar?" Cornelia asked as Taranee searched.

"Who cares?" Irma said. "Now we know where Will is!"

"What if it's a trap?" Hay Lin asked. "What is whoever captured Will wants us to go to this building?"

"Does it matter?" Cornelia said. "It's the only lead we've got, we have to take it."

"The Institute!" Taranee said. "Downtown Heatherfield. Hmmm."

"What?"

"There's not much information on it." Taranee said. "No listed owner, no known businesses in the building, nothing."

"But we know where it is, right?" Cornelia asked

"Yep."

"Call in Matt." Cornelia said. "Time to start planning."

Meridian

Caleb, Julian, Walli, Raythorn and Drake climbed the stairs and entered on to the roof of the castle. Standing in front of them was Dee. Two City Creatures stood beside him, growling.

"How could you?" Caleb said. "Elyon loved you."

"Yes she did." Dee said with a hint of a smile. "I have to admit, I impressed even myself with that. I mean I know I'm charming, but still."

Walli notched an arrow and was about to let it fly when Julian held him back.

"Why?" Julian asked. "Why go to all this trouble?"

Dee's smile disappeared.

"Because it's right!" he said. "I was born four hundred years ago. I was the greatest wielder of magic the world had ever seen. I was the Queen's right hand man. And most importantly, there was order. Look around you now! Phobos, Cedric, Nerissa. Meridian's seen nothing but Chaos in the last twenty years. You need my order!"

"Order?" Julian said. "I've read about that time period. Your Queen was a tyrant, and the people of Meridian overthrew her in a rebellion. You're no hero, you just want to rule for yourself."

"History is written by the victors, Julian." Dee said. "You should know that. If we had of defeated those peasants, they would have been labeled terrorists. Now, they're heroic rebels. When they did win, they banished me to the Infinite City, and surrounded me with these Creatures."

He stroked the back of one of the animals.

"But these were no ordinary Creatures, they had been changed by magic. That was all I needed. Slowly, over hundreds of years, I stole my power back from those beasts. That's why I now control them. If it means anything, I would have escaped within another fifty years anyways, your people finding me just speeded up the process. Although the life energy of that one person did help."

"Then you've been behind these attacks from the beginning." Walli said.

"I thought that was kind of obvious." Dee said. "Yes, I was behind the attacks. I was hoping that they would kill the whole lot of you, and Elyon would give me her heart in a fit of grief. I guess I'll have to do it the old fashioned way."

"You have a lot to learn about Meridian if you think you'll succeed." Caleb said.

Dee laughed.

"Please," he said, "I've faced armies. It will take a lot more then the five of you… Wait a second, why are there only five of you?"

Just then, two blue hands shot through the floor and grabbed Dee by the ankles. Vathek dragged Dee down as Tynar gave Dee a sharp uppercut. Dee was about to block Tynar's next punch when Vathek threw him into the nearby wall. Walli jumped through the hole in the floor and fired an arrow at Dee. Dee recovered in time to block it with an energy shield.

"Well done." he said. "It's been a while since I've had powers and you caught me off guard."

Caleb and Julian ran up from behind Dee, swords drawn, but he shot them backwards with an energy blast. As he did so, Drake and Raythor, who also jumped through the hole in the floor, tackled him from behind. They fought with him on the ground for a while, as the rest of the guard joined in.

"Enough!" Dee screamed. He pushed the Honor Guard away with a wall of energy.

"Do you have any idea who you're dealing with? I have ruled nations, fought armies and talked with demons! I am a king! It would take much more then the likes of you to defeat me! It would take…"

"A Queen."

Dee spun to see who had interrupted him. There, supported by her two adopted parents, was Elyon Brown.


	20. Human Resources

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 20

Human Resources

Meridian

"Elyon Brown."

Dee and Elyon stood across from each other, with only the rubble from the broken roof standing between them. On one side, Dee stood powerful, confident and alone. His hands glowed with the power that was once Elyon's. On the other side of the room, Elyon looked the exact opposite. Alborn and Miriadel supported her on both sides. Her breathing was ragged and short, while sweat dripped from her face. The Honor Guard surrounded her on all sides.

"I must say, I am impressed by your resilience." Dee said with a smirk. "I expected you to just roll over and die."

"I guess you don't know me very well then." Elyon said. Dee gave a short laugh.

"Why don't we take this outside?" Dee said. He then floated effortlessly through the hole in the ceiling and landed on what was left of the roof. Elyon quietly turned towards the staircase and slowly made her way to the roof, supported all the way. It took her nearly a full minute to reach the top.

"Do you know why I made you come up here?" Dee asked.

"You enjoy the fresh air?" Elyon said.

"Defiant to the end. Good. I like that." Dee said. "No, Elyon, I brought you up here for them."

He pointed off the side of the castle. Hundreds of Meridianites had gathered to witness the confrontation.

"I want them to see you fall." Dee continued. "I want them to know who their true ruler is."

Walli drew back his bow and was about to fire an arrow when Caleb held him back. It was Elyon's play now, all they could do was watch.

"Do you think I'm an idiot?" Elyon asked Dee.

"Yes." Dee answered quickly.

"Do you think I've learned nothing from the past few years?" Elyon continued, "Phobos, Nerissa, they were all after the same thing. Power. My Power. So I didn't just sit back, hoping it wouldn't happen again. I planned, so next time, I would be ready."

Dee's smile started to fade as he realized what Elyon was getting at.

"Over the past few weeks, I've started siphoning my power, creating a reserve of my sorts. That way, the next time some idiot like you tried to steal my power, I had some energy that was kept safe."

Dee's hands started to glow furiously.

"I will find this power." He said. "I will destroy it and you."

"No, you won't." Elyon said. "Because I've put it in the strongest part of Meridian. The one part that can never be destroyed. It's people."

Dee looked down off the roof of the castle, towards the crowd down below. A glow now surrounded the people, and as Elyon talked, the energy slowly rose up towards her.

"You thought my heart was something I kept for myself, but it's not. It's something that I give willingly to the people of Meridian every second, of every day. That's what makes a society work; the Queen gives everything to her people, and their people give it right back."

The last of the power entered Elyon's body. Dee laughed, but it lacked the confidence it once had.

"That's a nice trick, but you still only have about a quarter of the power I do." he said. "That's not nearly enough to defeat me alone."

"Oh, don't you get it?" Elyon said with a smile, "I'm never alone."

An arrow flew through the air, aimed at Dee. He deflected it at the last second, and looked up to see both Drake and Caleb charging at him. He brushed Caleb aside, but was unable to block one of Drake's daggers. Drake too was shoved away, but not before he had drawn blood. Next, Julian and Tynar attacked. Dee barely blocked both their attacks, but was not able to separate himself from them before Vathek attacked with a violent blow. Dee was sent flying backwards, but managed to blast Julian, Tynar and Vathek away. He blocked a few more arrows from Walli and was met with an energy blast from Elyon.

The battle continued this way for nearly an hour. Dee was under constant attack from either the honor guard or the newly re-powered Elyon. As soon as one person fell, another took his place. Eventually though, Dee's raw power became too much for even Meridian's finest. The Guard's attacks grew weaker and weaker, while Dee showed no signs of slowing. Finally, the Honor guard lay scattered around the rooftop, beaten.

Elyon flew in close for one final blast, but Dee matched it with one of his own. The two now stood only inches apart, Dee slowly overpowering Elyon.

"A valiant effort." Dee said. "But face it Elyon, I'm just too powerful."

"Weren't you listening?" Elyon said, "It's not about power, it's about people. People like Caleb, who taught the first rule of fighting. Always watch your back."

Just then, Dee's blast stopped. He looked down and saw an arrow sticking out of his chest. Behind him, Walli stood with bow in hand.

Dee tried to speak, but no words came out. He clutched his chest and collapsed to the ground, blood pouring from his wound.

Elyon and the Honor Guard stood around him, exhausted but victorious.

"Is he dead?" Tynar asked.

"No." Walli said. "I aimed carefully. He is not dead, but he will die unless he get's medical attention soon."

Caleb looked at Elyon.

"It's your call." he said.

Elyon stood there, looking down at the man who had broken her heart, stolen her power and threatened her friends and family. She took a deep breath.

"Bring them in." she said. "Save him."

Miriadel gave her daughter a hug.

"Elyon, I'mso proud of you!" she said. "You were amazing!"

Elyon didn't say anything. They had accomplished a lot today. She was pretty sure she should be happy, but she didn't feel it. She just felt tired, as if she could sleep for weeks. But there was still so much to do…

Heatherfield

The four girls sat in the basement of the Silver Dragon. Joining them were Matt, Napoleon and Mr. Huggles.

"What are we waiting for?" Matt said, arms crossed. "We know where she is, let's go get her."

"It's not that simple Matt." Cornelia said. "Without the Heart we don't have any powers."

"And whoever was able to figure out who Will was and kidnap her is bound to have some defenses." Taranee added.

"If we rush in now, we could be captured as well." Irma said. "Or worse."

"You'll have the Regents of Earth with you." Matt said. "We have more then enough power."

"We better hope so." Cornelia said. "Because we don't have anything else."

Suddenly, a bright blue fold appeared in the basement. Caleb stepped out of it and in to the midst of the girls.

"Caleb!"

Cornelia rushed into the arms of her boyfriend.

"How's Elyon?" Hay Lin asked.

"Better." Caleb said with a smile. "Much better."

Caleb spent the next five minutes bringing the girls up to speed on the events on Meridian, then the girls updated him on Will's status.

"So what are you going to do?" Caleb asked after they were finished.

"Attack." Matt said.

"We don't have any other choice." Hay Lin said. "But without our powers, we could use some extra help."

Caleb smiled.

"You'll have my strength as always." he said.

"What about your team?" Taranee asked.

"Taranee, they've just fought a huge battle," Cornelia said, "we can't just expect…"

"It's okay, Cornelia." Caleb said. "Will is a friend of all of us in Meridian. I can't guarantee anything, and I'm not sure how fast we can get here. We still have a lot of clean up to do."

"We'll take whatever you can get." Irma said.

"I'll ask and get back to in a bit." Caleb said.

"Meet us at the Institute." Matt said. "We're attacking now."

"We are?" Hay Lin asked.

"I'm not standing here any longer while Will is in danger." he said, walking towards the door. Napoleon followed him, and Mr. Huggles leapt onto Matt's shoulder.

"Matt, wait!" Cornelia said.

"No." Matt said. "Not anymore. If you don't want to come, then don't. But I'm not going to…"

"I meant wait, because we're coming with you." Cornelia interrupted.

"Yeah," Hay Lin said. "There's no way we're giving up on Will."

"She's our friend, and we're going to fight for her." Taranee added.

"No matter what the cost." Irma said.

Matt didn't smile, he just looked at them.

"Alright," he said. "Then let's go to war."


	21. Sacrifices

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 21

Sacrifices

Heatherfield

Riddle looked at his captive, and his captive looked back. Despite their positions, it was Will who was smiling, and Riddle who wore a frown. It had been three days since he had captured Will, and still he had yet to benefit. He glared at the Heart of Kandrakar, lying still and useless in its glass vial attached to the wall. This should have been a fairly simple matter. The machines were all on and working, so why wasn't he getting any power? What did she know that he didn't? And what in the world was happening on the monitor?

Kevin Davies had been a security guard for ten years. In that time he had worked for just about every type of person, on both sides of the law. So it was nice to know that even after all that time, he was still seeing new things. For example, he had never worked with so many people before. His daily report said that there were 402 people in the building at any given time, 400 of which were guards like him. Interestingly, there had been only 401 people up to three days ago. He had also never seen so many zeros on a paycheck. Nor had he seen his boss, or what he was guarding. Not that he really cared, mind you. All he cared about was his family. He hoped that this job would pay for his daughters' college education. Those hopes disappeared as a bright green beam of energy flew past his face, followed by part of the front door.

Matt flew through the newly enlarged entrance, followed by a ten-foot cat and a ten-foot mouse. He looked around. There must have been about 30 or so armed security guards surrounding him. They didn't know quite what to make of this strange group, but they were professionals and quickly got their guns ready.

"Girls, wait outside for a few moments."

Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin looked inside the building and decided to obey Matt's command. For about a minute, all they could hear was the sound of gunfire, energy blasts and groans. Then it went silent.

"Okay, you can come in now."

The girls peered into the building and saw Matt, Mr. Huggles and Napoleon standing in the midst of about 30 or so unconscious security guards.

"Woah." Hay Lin said. "I almost feel sorry for this guy."

Just then, metal shutters fell across all four walls, shutting the group in the room. Once the shutters were in place, multiple nozzles came out of the walls and started to admit a thick, pinkish gas.

"I don't." Cornelia said. "Hay Lin?"

"I've created an air shield around us," Hay Lin replied, "but without the Heart, it won't last long."

"Matt, any ideas?" Taranee asked.

Matt looked up.

"She's up there." he said. Then his eyes turned green and a large section of the roof disappeared. He grabbed Cornelia and Taranee and flew through the hole. Mr. Huggles and Napoleon grabbed Hay Lin and Irma and leapt through the hole as well.

Many floors above them, Riddle watched his monitor with growing concern. These girls were quite resourceful, he thought, switching to the second floor feed. How did they know where he was, and what were those creatures?

"It's over Riddle." Will said from behind him, "You can't get my power, and my friends are here to rescue me."

Riddle quietly walked over to the corner of the room, and retrieved a needle.

"You can knock me out as many times as you like," Will said as Riddle walked towards her, "But you know I'm right."

Riddle inserted the needle into her arm.

"Sodium Pentothal." He said, "Lying is a complicated mental procedure. This drug temporarily, but effectively limits your mental capacity, meaning that lying becomes impossible. In other words, it is a fast acting, short-term truth serum. What is your name?"

"Wilma Vandom." Will said slowly.

"What are the names of your biological parents?"

"Thomas and Susan Vandom."

"Why can I not access the power of the jewel?"

"Because magic cannot be stolen, it must be given willfully by the rightful owner, or inherited."

Riddle took a step back. He did not know this. There was no way that he could convince her to give him her power, not before her friends reached him. It was over. Once again, the fates had stopped him from having any happiness. But he was so close, so painfully close. No. He was too close. He had worked too hard to be stopped now. He would find a way. He turned the sound on his monitor.

"…they took her Raythor! They took the girl I love and now they're going to pay!"

Hmmmm, Riddle thought. So the bird creature loved her. Perhaps, if only the serum hadn't worn off.

"Who is that winged creature downstairs and what does he mean to you?" He asked Will.

"He's name is Matthew Olsen, and he is my boyfriend."

Riddle smiled. A change of plans was in order.

Irma surveyed the chaos. She had been in battles like this before of course, but rarely without powers. She hated feeling helpless, having to cower behind pillars and walls, but she had no choice. Bullets and energy ripped through the air. The Regents were fighting well, and given time they might be able to defeat the guards, but they also had to watch the girls. Despite their great power and effort, Irma knew it wasn't going to be enough. She turned and found her self facing one of the guards. The guard, excited to see someone who wasn't about claw his face off, raised his gun, and pulled the trigger. Irma closed her eyes and waited for the impact.

It came, but from the side, not the front, and it didn't feel like a bullet. Instead, it felt like a person. She hit the ground and opened her eyes to see Walli leaning over her.

"Are you all right?" He said.

"Yes, I'm fine. You're Walli, right?"

"Yes. Irma, correct? I'm very pleased to meet you."

"The pleasure's all mine. I'm sorry that I don't know you better. Were you part of the rebellion?"

"No. I come from a small town called Avalon. I was helping the Caleb with the situation on Meridian and decided to help here as well."

"Well I for one am glad you decided to come."

"Yes, I think I'm glad I came too."

"AHEM! If you two are done getting to know each other, we do have a battle going on."

"Sorry Caleb."

The addition of the Honor Guard quickly turned the tide of the battle. It took only minutes to clear up the rest of the guards. It wasn't good enough for Matt, however. He swooped down on one of Riddle's men, and shoved him against a wall.

"Where is she?" He shouted at the guard.

"I… I don't know." The guard said, shaking his head. Sweat was pouring down his face.

"Do you have any idea what kind of power I wield?" Matt said, his eyes starting to glow, "You will tell me where she is."

"I swear I don't know." the guard said, "We've never been told anything."

"Fine." Matt said. "You'll be the example for the others."

Matt's eyes glowed even brighter as he prepared to unleash a blast. As he fired, he was hit hard in the side of the head. It knocked his blast just wide of the man's head. He turned to see who had hit him and found Raythor staring back at him.

"Raythor!" He screamed. "What are you doing?"

"Saving you from yourself." Raythor said back. "You were about to kill that man."

"So?" Matt said, eyes still glowing. "They took her Raythor! They took the girl I love and now they're going to pay!"

"It's not worth it."

"Excuse me?"

"It's not worth it. It never is."

"So you would have me spare him?

"Yes. If not for me, for her."

The glow faded from Matt's eyes when he heard this.

"I've killed people before Matt, under Phobos. I thought I was doing the right thing, that it would protect the people I cared about, but it didn't. There's not a day that I don't regret all the lives I've taken. It changes you. Forever. You're a good man Matt, better then I'll ever be. If you kill that man now, you'll be changed too, into something that you're not. I've seen it happen to too many good people, I don't want to see it happen to you. And I'm guessing neither does she. Walk away."

Matt dropped the guard.

"Now," Raythor said, "whoever this guy is, he didn't think we had anyone who could fly. That means he most likely put himself, and probably Will, as high as he could. Which means we have to go up."

"How?" Matt asked. "He put a shutter on the ceiling too. I don't think I can blast through it."

Suddenly, the elevator dinged and another large group of guards exited.

"If people can come down, they can go up." Raythor said, pointing to the elevator.

"Up the elevator shaft. Nice." Matt said. "But I can't carry all of you up there."

"Just go!" Raythor said. "We'll handle these guys."

"Thanks Raythor." Matt said. Then he took off, blasted through the elevator and headed up the long, dark shaft.

Once more, the room burst into chaos. Irma and the rest of the girls ducked for cover yet again. This time however, it was a much more even fight. It was clear that the well-trained Honor Guard, combined with the mystic might of the Regents, were too much for the mere security guards. But all it took was one lucky shot. Irma saw it first. One of the guards had slipped behind Walli, and was lining him up in his sights.

"Walli, watch out!" Irma shouted.

Walli and faced the guard but it was too late. Walli had no time to draw his bow, and no one else could get there in time. Walli closed his eyes, and waited for the end.

Will hit the ground. She stumbled around, stretching aching muscles. She was free! How? Riddle? No, he was nowhere to be found. The girls! Matt! She remembered now, they had been on the monitor. But how had they found her? It doesn't matter. They were here, and they needed her help. She looked at the Heart, still sitting in a glass vial attached to the wall. She walked over to the table where her stuff had been placed and picked up her coat. She wrapped her hand in it and smashed through the glass. It shattered and the Heart fell to the ground. It sparked and glowed as she picked at up and held it in front of her.

"Guardians unite!"

Irma panicked. There was nothing she could do. Walli was going to be killed in front of her and there was nothing she could do. But she had to do something! She closed her eyes and focused on the guard. She concentrated, and released all of her power. She opened her eyes. The guard was halfway across the room, soaking wet. She had done it! She had saved him! She looked down. She was in guardian form, fully transformed, just in time to save him. She breathed a sigh of relief and looked at Walli. He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Wait a minute." Taranee said from behind Irma. "If we're Guardians again, then that must mean…"

A bolt of lightning struck down a guard.

"Will."

With the combined might of the Guardians, the Honor Guard and the Regents, the security guards were defeated in a matter of seconds. The Girls barely had time to give Will a hug before…

"The Guardians. In all their glory."

The girls looked up to see that a large screen had lowered itself from the ceiling. On it was Riddle.

"This is the guy who kidnapped you?" Hay Lin asked.

"Yeah." Will said. "His name's Riddle and he's more dangerous then he looks."

"We're going to get you Riddle." Taranee said. "Even if we have to tear down this entire building."

"No, you won't." Riddle replied calmly.

"Why not?" Will asked.

"Because," Riddle said, "there are only two ways to free the locks that held you in place, Will. The first way is by entering a 12 digit key code, and then pressing a small, unmarked button in my office. Since no alarms are going off, no one has entered my office. Which means you were freed using the second way. That way involves manually ripping out the cords supplying power to the electronic locks that kept you in place. Whoever did rip out these cords would also receive a 2500-volt shock while they did it. That's more then they use in electric chairs. So you could hunt me down, or could try to save the person who saved you. By the way Will, isn't someone missing from your group?"

Will looked around and felt her heart sink. There was only one person who wasn't there. Only one person who was missing.

"Matt!"


	22. Homesick

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 22

Homesick

Heatherfield

Matthew Olsen lay face down on the ground, once more in human form. Behind him, two torn cords dangled uselessly from the wall. In front of him, Will Vandom kneeled on the ground, trying to hold back tears.

"Matt!"

"Is he…?" Hay Lin asked softly. Julian and Taranee kneeled beside Matt.

"He's alive." Julian said. "I can feel a pulse."

"But his breathing is so weak." Taranee added. "We have to get him to a hospital."

"But Riddle…" Caleb said.

"Riddle's right." Will said, brushing tears from her eyes. "I hate him for it, but he's right. Matt's has to be our top priority. We have to get him to a hospital."

"Where?" Irma said. "We can't just drop him off at Heatherfield General, how will we explain that?"

"Irma's right." Cornelia said. "People will get suspicious."

"Meridian." Julian said. "We can keep him stable at the castle until you come up with something."

"Are you sure?" Taranee said. "No offence, but Meridian doesn't have the medical technology that Earth does."

"It's our only option." Hay Lin said. "We can't keep him in Heatherfield. What will we tell his mom?"

"My mom!" Will said. "How could I forget about my mom? What will I tell her?"

Taranee and Cornelia looked at each other.

"Let's focus on our priorities." Tynar interrupted. "We need to get Matt to Meridian."

"You're right." Will said.

The honor guard lifted Matt up gently and carried him through a fold that Will created with the Heart. The girls spent the next ten minuets going through the building, but Riddle was nowhere to be found.

"He must have got out of here as soon as we left." Hay Lin said.

"He's got to be around here somewhere." Will said.

"Will, you've had a long day." Hay Lin said. "We all have. Let's just go home. We'll get Riddle tomorrow."

"You're right." Will said. "But what are we going to tell my mom?"

"Actually, we've come up with an idea for that." Cornelia said as they flew into the night, "But you're not going to like it."

"What is it?"

The girls looked at each other nervously.

"We think that Irma can use her powers to 'convince' your mom that…"

"No."

"Will…"

"I'm not brainwashing my mom."

"It's not a brainwash. It's more like a brain rinse."

"Don't you dare joke about this Irma."

"Your mom's not the only one you know. She also called the cops."

"You mean…?"

"Yeah, my dad's on the list as well."

"And you're okay with that?"

"If that's what it takes."

"Will, we've been thinking about this," Taranee said, "and this is the only option that works."

Will didn't say anything.

"Now we're going to tell her that Matt went on tour and invited you to join him for his first concert. That will also explain why Matt's gone."

"What about the rest of his band? They haven't gone on tour."

"We'll just say he's filling in for another band."

Will gave her friends a skeptical look.

"We know it's not perfect, Will." Hay Lin said, "But it's the best we've got."

The five girls landed on the Vandom's front yard.

"It will only be a minute." Irma said, putting her hand on Will's shoulder.

"Alright." Will said. "Just get it over with."

The girls got out of sight as Irma walked up the steps and rung the doorbell. It was Dean that answered.

"Oh, hello Irma. I'm afraid there's still no word from Will." he said.

"Actually, Will's why I'm here." Irma said. "Can I come in?"

The other girls came out from behind the bushes when they saw Irma enter the house.

"What do I tell her?" Will said. "I don't want to lie to her."

"Just try to avoid the subject until you can clear your head." Taranee said.

"We'll be right with you the entire time." Cornelia added.

"Okay, you can come in now." Irma said, walking down the steps. "Oh, and Will, Dean's in there too."

"Just what I need." Will said.

"Just relax." Hay Lin said as they walked through the front doors.

"Will! It's so great to see you!" Susan said, giving her daughter a hug.

"H-Hi Mom." Will said.

Susan's eyes were bloodshot from crying, although she didn't even remember why. Will had to hold back tears of her own.

"How was the concert?" Susan asked.

"Oh, it was, uh, it was great. Really great. Really." Will said.

"Are you all right?" Susan asked Will.

"Yeah, mom, I'm fine. Just tired, that's all." Will replied. "Do you mind if I take the girls back to my room? We have a lot of catching up to do."

"Of course, go right ahead." Susan said. "But please don't go out tonight. I've missed you to."

Will just looked away and headed to her room.

"That was awful!" Will said to the girls once they were alone.

"You did fine Will." Taranee reassured her friend.

"Are you going to check on Matt tonight?" Irma asked.

"I want to." Will said. "But I don't want to leave my mom either. She really misses me, even if she doesn't know why."

"I'll go to Meridian and check on him Will." Cornelia said. "It will give me a chance to check on Caleb and Elyon. I'll let you know if he wakes up."

"Thanks Cornelia." Will said, opening a fold to Meridian.

"I think I'll come with you, Corny." Irma said, standing up.

"Why?" Hay Lin asked.

"Because I want to." Irma replied. "Is there something wrong with that?"

Cornelia shrugged.

"Whatever. Oh, and don't…" Cornelia said as they walked through the portal.

"Well, I guess I better go see my mom." Will said.

"Yeah, we better head home as well." Taranee said, standing to leave.

"Oh, and by the way," Will said, "thanks for coming to get me."

"Well of course we we're going to get you, silly." Hay Lin said with a smile. "We would have been looked awfully stupid fighting as I.T.C.H."

Will smiled and gave her friends a hug. She walked them to the door and waved goodbye, then she turned around and saw Dean standing behind her.

"Oops, excuse me Will." Dean said, "I'm just getting my coat."

"Why?" Will asked. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Well, you haven't seen your mom for awhile, I thought it was best if I left."

"Dean, did you spend a lot of time here while I was… away." Will asked.

"Er, yes I did. I'm sorry if that makes you uncomfortable."

"No, not at all. In fact, thanks."

"For what?"

"For being here when I wasn't."

"Will, you were at a concert. It's not like you we're kidnapped."

"Uh, yeah. Well, thanks anyways. And you should really stay for dinner."

"Thanks Will, I think I will."

Will headed back to the table with Dean and, for the first time in three days, she smiled.

Meridian

"…ever call me Corny again Irma."

"Cornelia! Good to see you." Caleb said. "Oh, nice to see you too, Irma."

"Yeah, thanks." Irma said.

"How is he?" Cornelia asked.

"Not good." Caleb said. "I have to admit, we don't know much about electrical injuries, but he's not healing like he should. We're not sure why."

"I feel so bad for Will." Cornelia said. "She's been through so much these last few days, if something happens to Matt…"

"Cornelia!"

Elyon gave her friend a hug.

"Oh, it's nice to see you too, Irma."

"Yeah, thanks Elyon." Irma said with a sigh. "If anyone needs me, I'll be over there."

"How are you doing, Elyon?" Cornelia asked.

"I'm holding up." Elyon said. "You should be more worried about Matt."

"Is it that bad?" Cornelia said.

"Here's the Doctor coming now." Caleb said. "You can ask her yourself."

"I better go." Elyon said quickly. "It was nice to see you again."

"Yeah, you too." Cornelia said. She turned to Caleb once Elyon was gone. "Why did she leave so quickly?"

"Dee was a doctor." Caleb said. "She's still not comfortable around them. She's putting on a brave face, but Dee really hurt her."

The doctor joined their group before Cornelia could respond.

"Cornelia," Caleb said. "This is Doctor Patillo."

Patillo was an older woman with short grey hair. She walked between the two and shook Cornelia's hand.

"Pleased to meet you, Guardian." she said. "I wish it was under better circumstances."

"How bad is it?" Cornelia asked.

"Worse." Patillo replied. "I've never seen anything like it. It's like he's not even fighting it. If I don't see improvent in the next 24 hours, well, I can't make any guarantees."

Away from this conversation, Irma was having one of her own. But instead of a doctor, she was talking with Walli.

"It's good to see you're alright." Walli said.

"We're always alright." Irma said with a smile. "Listen, it was really nice what you did, coming to help Will."

"We look out for our friends." Walli said.

"I don't mean the team, I mean you. You'd only met her a couple of times." Irma said. "You didn't have to come, but you did anyways. I just thought it was really… nice."

"Thank you." Walli said with a smile.

"Irma!" Cornelia shouted from across the room. "We need to go."

"I'll be there in a sec, Corny!" She turned back to Walli. "I have to go, but I hope I'll see you again sometime."

"Yes," Walli said, "me too."

Irma waved goodbye, then headed back through the fold, and back to Heatherfield.

Heatherfield

Will tossed and turned in her bed. It was almost morning, and even though she was exhausted, she hadn't slept at all. Cornelia had told her about Matt. Would he…? Could he…? She couldn't even finish the thought. But there was nothing she could do now; she had to try to get some sleep. She was just nodding off when her phone rang.

"Who is it Ed?" Will asked her phone sleepily.

"I don't know Will." Ed said, "I don't recognize the number."

Will picked up the phone and put it to her ear.

"Hello?" she said.

"Hello Will Vandom. This is Riddle. We need to talk about your boyfriend."


	23. Emergency Room

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 23

Emergency Room

Heatherfield

"Riddle!"

Will shot out of bed.

"How dare you call about Matt! We're coming for you, Riddle. We will find you."

"You don't need to find me, Will. I'm still in the Institute. Top floor. Come and get me."

Will didn't even think. She grabbed the Heart, quickly transformed and flew out her window. She got to the large, familiar building in record time. She blasted through the concrete upper walls and found Riddle inside waiting.

"This is it Riddle. You have nothing to hide behind this time." Will said, her hands crackling with electricity.

"Will, do you think, after all I've done, I would stand here, unarmed and unprotected without some kind of plan?" Riddle said. "If you touch me, your boyfriend dies."

"Explain." Will said.

"Matt's not doing well, is he?" Riddle began, "He's not recovering the way he should be. You don't need to answer; your eyes tell me I'm right. It's the magic in him. Matt is a non-magical being, who has been given magic. It's affecting the way he heals."

"What does this have to do with you?" Will asked.

"I heard through the security system that you were taking him to Meridian. I highly doubt that they know enough about magic to cure him properly. But I do."

"Oh really." Will said.

"Will, no one's studied magic like I have. I've spent the last ten years researching magic, and there is very little I don't know. I am the only person who can save him, and all I ask in return is the Heart."

"How do I know you'll do it? How do I know you can save him?" Will asked.

Riddle sighed.

"Despite…recent evidence to the contrary, I am not an evil man. I have no desire to see Matt die. All I want is to see my family. You won't have to give me the Heart until I save him. I know that you won't go back on your word."

Will hesitated.

"I… I'll have to think about it. I'll need to talk it over with the girls, and make sure he hasn't gotten better."

"Of course." Riddle said. "But I warn you, he probably only has four, five days max. You'll need to make your decision quickly. If you want to talk again, call me, and I'll be at the Institute in 5 minuets. Otherwise, don't try to find me."

Will quickly flew back to her house and called the girls.

"Meridian. Now."

Meridian

"Are you sure he can do it?" Julian asked, once Will had filled them in on what had happened.

The Guardians, the Honor Guard, Queen Elyon and Doctor Patillo all sat around Elyon's throne room.

"Probably, but it doesn't matter." Will said. "We don't have to give him the Heart until Matt is safe. We just need to figure whether we should let him try."

"Is he right about Matt's condition?" Taranee asked.

"It would make sense." Patillo said. "There's no reason I can think of that he's not healing. He should have only been unconscious for a few minutes, considering how invulnerable he is in his magical form. At this rate, however, four or five days are about what I'd give him as well."

"What about Kandrakar?" Vathek suggested. "Surely they would be able to save him."

"Kandrakar's not an option." Will said, shaking her head. "We haven't been able to get there since Zamballa."

"You still can't get to Kandrakar?" Caleb asked.

"Nope. Trust me, I've tried." Will said. "I don't know what's going on there, but we can't worry about it now."

"You're not actually considering giving him the Heart, are you Will?" Raythor said.

"We may not have any other choice, Raythor." Cornelia said.

"I hate to say it," Irma said, "but I agree with Raythor. Why don't we just go and beat the snot of him. Just force him to help Matt."

"You haven't seen him like I have." Will said. "He'd rather die then lose."

"Besides," Hay Lin said, "we don't even know where he is."

"And we don't really have time to look." Cornelia added.

"But this is the Heart of Kandrakar we're talking about." Raythor said. "Without that, you're no longer Guardians."

"We know." Cornelia said.

"We've done a lot of good things as Guardians." Will said. "Maybe it's time to go back to having normal lives. Before someone else gets hurt."

"No way!" Irma said. "I love being a Guardian, and I don't want to give it up because of some jerk in an office."

"What about when the next monster attacks, what do we do then?" Hay Lin asked.

"It means we won't be able to go to Meridian." Cornelia said, giving Caleb's hand a squeeze.

"We could always come to see you…" Caleb said.

"The Oracle gave the Heart to Will." Taranee said, "Plus, it's her boyfriend, and that makes it her decision."

The group sat in silence for a few minuets. Will's mind raced with thoughts. Could she really give up the Guardians? The ability to fly, and to see other worlds, could she just give it up? She had seen and done so many things that no one else ever had. But on the other hand, could she still be a Guardian if it cost her Matt? Could she watch him die, knowing she could have saved him? She knew in her mind that there was only one decision she could make. She was about to speak when Elyon began to talk.

"Actually, I might have one other option." Elyon said.

Heatherfield

Riddle couldn't help but feel excited. He had received the call from Will just minutes before, and was now standing on the top floor of the Institute, staring out of the hole that Will had created earlier that morning. He had worked so long and hard for this moment. If she said yes, and if he was correct about Matt's problem, he was merely hours away from his goal. Suddenly, a blue fold opened up in front of him and five figures stepped out of it. Wait, three more people were stepping out of the fold. He recognized the two in the back, Caleb and Walli he believed they were called. But who was the girl in front of them?

"So Will," Riddle began, "not only are you responding to my offer, but you've brought friends." He looked at Elyon. "I don't believe we've been introduced. I'm doctor Theodore Riddle."

Elyon returned his look.

"My name is Elyon Brown, Queen of Meridian. And you won't be taking Will's power, because I'm going to give you mine."


	24. Braving the Unknown

W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 24

Braving the Unknown

Meridian 

20 minutes Earlier

"No!"

"Caleb, wait!"

"Elyon, you can't be serious!"

"Let's think about this…"

"I won't let you!"

"You can't!"

"Everybody shut up and listen!"

The Guardians and the Honor Guard stood at various points around Elyon's throne room. Nobody knew quite what how to react to Elyon's idea.

"Elyon, run this by us one more time." Cornelia said.

"I'm going to give Riddle my power in exchange for him saving Matt."

"Elyon you can't!"

"Yes, Caleb, I can."

Heatherfield

Riddle stared at Elyon for a few seconds.

"You're going to give me your power?" he said.

"Yes."

"I know nothing about you. How do I know your power is sufficient?"

With a wave of her hand, Elyon disintegrated what was left of the walls holding up the roof of the building. The ceiling began fall on the group, causing Riddle to duck for cover. Before the ceiling hit, Elyon raised her open hand and used her power to suspend the roof in mid-air. She then closed her hand and the roof also disappeared.

"Very well, it seems your power will be more then enough." Riddle said, picking himself up from the floor. "Although I would ask that you don't destroy anymore of my building with your demonstrations."

"Fair enough." Elyon said. "Now, I assume we can start right away."

"Just one more question." Riddle said. "Purely a matter of curiosity, Will is Matt's boyfriend, but even she questioned giving her power to save him. So why are you, who have no relation to him that I know about, willing to do so much to save him?"

Meridian

18 minutes earlier 

"Why are you doing this Elyon?" Hay Lin asked.

"Because Phobos, Nerissa and Dee all had one thing in common." Elyon began, "They wanted my power. And they hurt this city and its people trying to get it. That's the only reason they attacked. If I get rid of my power, Meridian is no longer a target for every tyrant and madman who's looking for power. It makes us safer."

Heatherfield

"Let's just say I have my reasons and leave it at that." Elyon told Riddle.

"Fine, if that's what you want." Riddle said. "Take me to Meridian."

Meridian

15 minutes earlier

"Have you thought this through my Queen?" Vathek asked.

"Yes I have."

"But your power is our best defense against threats." Caleb said. "Without it…"

"Meridian becomes safer." Julian interrupted.

"Father?" Caleb said. "You knew about this?"

"I've talked this over with Julian." Elyon said. "He agrees that my power is what's bringing these attacks to us."

"Giving up her power would, in all likelihood, stop or limit the series of attacks that Meridian has suffered." Julian continued. "There's never been an opportunity or a reason to get rid of it…"

"Until now." Elyon finished.

"I still don't like it." Caleb said.

"I know." Elyon said. "But it's what I need to do."

"Elyon, I can never thank you enough." Will said. "For you to do this,"

"It's the least I can do after all the Guardians have done for us." Elyon said. Will gave her a hug.

"Okay, lets go to Earth."

Meridian

Now

Elyon sat in the hallway, waiting patiently. Riddle had taken Matt back to the Institute and Will had gone with him, as well as doctor Patillo. Taranee had suggested that everyone else get some much-needed down time, so the Guardians and the Honor Guard were in the mess hall. Except for Caleb, who was in the training room, and Elyon who was sitting in the hall thinking. She looked up when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Miriadel walked down the hall and sat beside her adopted daughter.

"Penny for your thoughts, my dear?" Miriadel asked.

"It's Caleb." Elyon said. "I'm worried about him."

"Matt's near death and you're about to give up your power, but it's Caleb you're worried about?"

"You know what I mean." Elyon said with a smile. "I knew he wasn't going to like my plan, but I didn't think he would take it this badly. Why can't he just accept what has to happen?"

"Caleb's different then me or you, Elyon. I had my whole childhood before Phobos took over, and you only found out about Meridian two years ago. But Caleb was born under Phobos's rule, and even though he didn't know you until recently, he's been fighting for you his entire life. Now he feels like he's failed you because of what you have to do."

"But it's not his fault." Elyon said. "If anything it's mine."

"It's nobody's fault." Miriadel said. "It's just the way life works. Now what about you? Are you prepared for what you have to do?"

"Of course not." Elyon said with a laugh. "How can I be?"

"You do fine." Miriadel said.

"Thanks mom."

Miriadel stood up to leave as Elyon continued to think. She smiled, and thought about how much Elyon had changed in the last couple of years. Then she turned and walked back down the hallway.

Heatherfield

Will sat and stared at the door separating her from Matt. It felt weird being in the Institute again. Her thoughts were interrupted by the glow of a fold. Cornelia stepped through and sat beside her.

"How are you doing?" Cornelia asked.

"I guess as well as can be expected." Will said with a shrug.

Cornelia didn't say anything; she just sat in silence beside her friend.

"Do you think this is it?" Will asked at last.

"What do you mean?"

"As Guardians." Will said. "It was fun when we were going to different worlds and being heros but," Will pointed to the door, "is it worth it?"

Cornelia stared at the door. They had all been thinking the same thing ever since Taranee broke up with Nigel over the Guardians, but Cornelia never thought that they would actually stop being Guardians. But that was before Matt. Now, things didn't look so clear.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the opening of the door in front of her. Riddle walked out, brushing the sweat of his forehead. Will stood up quickly.

"Well?" she said.

"He's on his way to a full recovery, as is to be expected." Riddle said.

Will breathed a sigh of relief.

"Can we talk to him?" Cornelia asked.

"Not yet, I'm afraid." Riddle said. "He's still unconscious. Patillo will take him back to Meridian. He should be awake in a couple of hours."

"Can I at least see him?" Will asked.

"Of course." Riddle said. "Go with him to Meridian, tell your friends the good news. I await your return with Elyon."

The two girls helped Patillo take Matt back to Meridian, where they were met with cheers.

Meridian

"I don't know how he did it." Patillo said. "There were things in that room that I'll never understand. All I know is that Matt is healing very nicely. He'll have some scarring on his hands, but no lasting damage."

"I suppose it's time to uphold my end of the bargain." Elyon said.

"Not without me."

Caleb entered the room for the first time since Elyon announced her plan. He headed straight towards his Queen.

"I'm with you to the end." he said.

"Thanks Caleb. For everything." Elyon said. Then she created a fold to Heatherfield.

"Alright, let's get this over with."

Heatherfield

Riddle, Elyon and Caleb stood in large, dark room. The room was filled with a wide variety of dials, buttons, and turning gears. Riddle was wearing a full lab coat and thick tinted goggles. He was going around the room double-checking each measurement and reading. He had done too much work to be done in now by a missed calculation.

Caleb also wore a lab coat and goggles similar to Riddle. Riddle had made it quite clear that Caleb was not needed in the room during the procedure, but Caleb had insisted he be there. He was looking back and forth quickly between Riddle and Elyon, trying to keep an eye on both.

Elyon stood facing the wall. Her hands were placed in two hand shaped holes in the wall, which seemed to lead to a large empty space behind the wall. Sensors and wires surrounded her, all being used to measure the amount of energy she was about to release. She looked at a dark window on the far side of the room. Although she couldn't see them, she knew the Guardians, the rest of the Honor Guard and doctor Patillo were behind the window. She gave them a weak smile, a smile that quickly faded once she turned away.

"Alright, Elyon." Riddle said, "It's very important to pay close attention to what I say during the procedure. You can't just unleash all your power at once, the results could be… disastrous."

"What do you mean by that?" Caleb asked.

"Caleb, it's fine." Elyon said, trying to reassure her friend. "Just tell me what to do, Riddle."

"Whenever you're ready," Riddle began, "fire a weak blast into the chamber. Only about ten percent of what you could do, and only till I tell you to stop. Understand?"

"Yes." Elyon said.

She took a deep breath, and then began. As she poured power into the chamber, the walls of the room began to glow with energy. Lights that were dark before now shone brightly.

"Stop!" Riddle said after a couple of seconds. "Amazing." He said. "Your power is amazing."

He made some modifications to some of the machines, and then turned back to Elyon.

"Okay Elyon, now fire another blast, this time about half of your potential. When I say so, increase your power to about 80 percent. Ready?"

"Ready."

"Now."

Elyon shot another blast into the chamber. This time, the room glowed even brighter. The tinted goggles both Riddle and Caleb wore protected their eyes.

"Now, Elyon!" Riddle said, "Increase the discharge!"

Elyon did as she was told. Sweat started to pour down her face from the effort. The room seemed ready to explode. The lights shone brighter and the gears turned faster. Riddle pressed a button and the power flowed to the corners of the room. Riddle pressed another series of buttons and the power was shot into the center of the room, where a faint blue glow was beginning to form. After a few seconds, the image of a portal became clearer and clearer.

"Now Elyon! Everything you've got!"

Elyon gave one last final push of power into the chamber. Her knees were now starting to shake.

The portal in the center of the room was almost fully formed now. Riddle ran over to one side of the room and opened a small door. He pulled out a large knapsack containing everything he would need in Meridian. Then he turned to the window that the Guardians were standing behind.

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity girls. I apologize for any harm I might have caused."

He then turned to Elyon.

"Once I am gone, you can stop Elyon. Thank you."

He put on his knapsack, and headed for the portal.

"I'm coming my love." He whispered. Then he walked into the portal, and into the unknown.

Elyon shut off her power the second Riddle disappeared, then fell to the ground unconscious, all of her power drained from her. Caleb ran to her as the Guardians and the Honor Guard burst into the room.

"Is she alright?" Will asked.

"She's exhausted." Patillo said, kneeling beside Elyon. "She's used an incredible amount of power. She just needs some rest and she'll be fine."

Will quickly opened a fold to Meridian and the group left the building. Once again, the Institute was left dark and empty. The humming had stoped, the lights were out, and the gears no longer turned.

Meridian

"She did all that for me?" Matt asked.

It had been hours since Matt had been saved and Riddle had gone through the portal, and it was now almost night on Meridian. Will sat beside Matt's hospital bed. He had just woken up and Will had spent the last twenty minutes explaining what had happened. Two beds down, Elyon slept peacefully. She had awoken twice since the procedure, and seemed physically fine. All tests showed that she no longer had any of her former power.

"She did it for everyone." Will said. "You, Meridian. Even Riddle."

"I can't believe you gave him what he wanted." Matt said. "You should have just…"

"He wasn't an evil man." Will said. "He was just doing everything he could to be with the people he loved. Now that I know what that feels like, I don't blame him."

"Even if he was the one who made you feel that way?"

Will didn't say anything. Looking at Matt, she knew they made the right choice, but there were still so many questions. Could they still be Guardians now that they knew what they had to lose? And what was going on in Kandrakar? Will had tried again only an hour ago and still couldn't reach the fortress. Will knew that Kandrakar could have saved Matt without Elyon giving up her powers. How could they close their doors in the Guardians darkest hour?

"Hey," Matt said, leaning up, "Thanks for saving me."

"Same to you." Will said with a smile.

She gave him a kiss, and he leaned back and went to sleep. The questions would wait, she thought. For now, she was just happy to have Matt back. She stared out the window, watched the sun set, and waited for morning.

**Authors Note**

**Wow. 81 days and 33,001 words later and it's finally done. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I do plan on doing a season 4, but I'm going to take a bit of a break before I do. Keep your eyes open. As always, I appreciate any feed back on this story, and what you'd like to see next time. Thanks for reading!**

**Special thanks to:**

**Chaotic9 and ForeverHalfa, my first fans.**

**Mooncloud217 from W.I.T.C.H-O-HOLIC and HeartofEarth from Youtube for getting me hooked on W.I.T.C.H**


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